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UTHOORAPIHffl p R THE EVANGELICAL KNOWLEDGE BOOUM 



MEMOIRS 

REAR-ADMIRAL 



SIR W. EDWARD PARRY, F 



F. R. S., Etc 



f M.-fSaimax 0f GtatoMr f tf^ifal 



BY HIS SON, 

THE REV. EDWARD PARRY, M. A., 

OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD, 
AND LATE TUTOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM. 



1 Both sex's virtues were in him combined : 
He had the firmness of the manliest mind, 
And all the tenderness of woman-kind. 
He never knew what envy was, nor hate ; 
His soul was filled with worth and honesty, 
And with another thing quite out of date, 
Called modesty." Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, 

of Sir Thomas Fairfax. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION 

OF EVANGELICAL KNOWLEDGE, 

BIBLE HOUSE, 1ST E W-Y O B K , 

and 1224 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 



\% 



\S5-74- 



By Transfer from 

U,S.Sold!efs Home Liby. 

April 1, 1932 



TO 

THE OFFICERS -A.3STID SBAMEU 

OF THE 

THIS MEMOIR OF A NAVAL OFFICER 

IS DEDICATED, 

WITH MUCH RESPECT, 

r,Y 

THE AUTHOE. 



• & -5&§2; ' 



NOTE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. 



This is a literal reprint from the English copy. 

With respect to certain amusements employed by Sir Edward 
Parry, to render more tolerable an Arctic night of five months, 
or for elevating the debased settlers of Australia, some may 
doubt whether his Christian judgment was the wisest under the 
circumstances. Of his spirit and purpose there is no room foi 
doubt. As a biography of a Christian layman it will be found 
of unsurpassed interest. In the whole range of such biography 
we do not remember to have met with any character, exhibiting 
to the same extent the power and attractiveness of Christianity 
on so many tind widely different fields of worldly occupation. 

New-York, May, 1857. \y< 



PREFACE. 



In adding another to the numerous biographies which are 
almost monthly issuing from the press, I have been induced to 
hope that the Memoir of Sir Edward Parry may not be without 
its peculiar interest, as the life of one whose name has long been 
before the public, not only as the successful pioneer of Arctic 
enterprise, or as holding important Government appointments, 
but also as the constant and zealous promoter of the welfare of 
his fellow-men. 

Those who were personally acquainted with the subject of 
this memoir, either in the course of his public career, or more 
particularly in his private life, will, it is hoped, be interested in 
tracing the circumstances which led to the formation and devel- 
opment of a character they may have been led to admire or to 
love. 

In dedicating this volume to seamen, il is my earnest desire 
that those of that profession into whose hands it may fall may 
find benefit and encouragement in the history of a naval officer, 
whose first endeavor was to " serve God in his own generation," 
and to " adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour in all things. 
Of his unceasing anxiety to promote the highest welfare of the 
service, to which he ever felt it an honor to belong, sufficien 
proof will be found in the following pages. 



Vlll PREFACE. 

It may be thought by some, ihat certain portions of Sir Ed- 
ward Parry's life have been passed over in too rapid and cursory 
a manner. In all such cases, the object has been to mention 
only such circumstances as serve to maintain the thread of the 
narrative, or to exhibit the main features of his character, as 
illustrated in letters or otherwise. 

In conclusion, I take this opportunity of heartily thanking all 
those kind friends who have contributed material for this Me- 
moir, as well as those to whose advice and judgment, in prepar- 
ing it for the press, I feel myself largely indebted. 

E. P. 

Sonning, Berks, Jan. \Wi, 1857. 



13* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
1190—1810. 



PAGE 

Birth and Parentage— Childhood— School Life— " Yille de Paris" 
— Attachment to Home — Early Religious Character — First Sea- 
Pight — " Tribune" — a Prize — " Vanguard" — Danish Gun- 
Boats — Recreation and Study — a Temptation resisted — Lieu- 
tenant's Commission, . . . . .13 

CHAPTER II. 

1810—1818. 

Joins the "Alexandria" — Danish Gun-Boats — Polar Ice — Astro- 
nomical Studies — Appointment to "La Hogue," and Voyage 
to Halifax-— Boat Expedition up the River Connecticut — Leaves 
" La Hogue" — Illness — Bermudas — Returns Home — Appoint- 
ment to the " Alexander" under Ross, . . . .34 



CHAPTER III. 

Brief Sketch of Arctic Discovery previously to 1818 — Life in the 
Polar Regions, ......... 54 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

1818. 

PASS 

The " Alexander " fitted out at Deptford — Lieut. Franklin — Sail- 
ing of the Expedition under Eoss — Baffin's Bay — Lancaster 
Sound and Croker Mountains — Return to England — Parry ap- 
pointed to the command of a new Expedition, . . .TO 

CHAPTER V. 

1819—1820. 

Parry's first Toyage — "Hecla " and ; ' Griiper " pass through Lan- 
caster Sound — " "Westward, Ho I " — "Winter at Melville Island — 
Return Home — Promotion to Commander — Freedom of 
Bath, etc., 22 

CHAPTER VI. 

1821—1824. 

Second Voyage — " Fury" and " Hecla " — John Gordon — Repulse 
Bay — First Winter at Winter Island — Esquimaux — Higliuk — 
Discovery of the Strait of Fury and Hecla — Second Winter at 
Igloolik — Return to England — Illness — Appointed Hydrogra- 
pher to the Admiralty 119 

CHAPTER VII. 

1824—1825. 

Third and Last Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Pas- 
sage — Winter at Fort Bowen — Masquerade — Loss of the 
"Fury" — "Hecla" returns Home — Development of Religious 
Character, . . • 156 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1826—1828. 

TAGE 

Interest in Religiois Societies — Appointment to the Command 
of an Expedition for the purpose of attempting to reach the 
North Pole — Marriage — Sailing of the Expedition — The "Hecla" 
left at Spitzbergen — Boat and Sledge Journey to the North- 
ward — "Return to the " Hecla" — Homeward Voyage — Short 
Tour on the Continent— Death of his Eldest Child, . .178 

CHAPTER IX. 

1829—1834. 

Appointment as Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Com- 
pany — Honorary Degree at Oxford — Voyage to Sydney — Life 
at Port Stephens — Improvements effected in the Colony — Ex- 
cursions into the Interior — Mother's Death— Building of a Church . 
at Stroud — Farewell Sermon at Carrington — Return to England, 203 

CHAPTER X. 

1835—1840. 

Appointment as Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner — Congham — 
Death of eldest Daughter — Resignation of Office of Poor-Law 
Commissioner — Appointment as Comptroller of Steam Ma- 
chinery — Death of Youngest Child — Assaad V. Kayat — Death 
of Lady Parry — " Parental Character of GTod," . . .234 

CHAPTER XI. 
1841—1845. 
Second Marriage — Caledonian Canal — Removal to Hampstead — 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Eeligious Character— Views on the Importance of Prayer — 
Eugby — Public Meetings — Eeligious Influence — Lowestoft — 
Homburg — Eesignation under anxiety and suffering — Duties at 
the Admiralty — "Erebus" and "Terror" — Letter from Frank- 
lin, 251 

CHAPTER XII. 

1846—1852. 

Haslar, 26? 

CHAPTER XIII. 

1852—1855. 

Summer at Keswick — Bishop's "Waltham — Speech at Lynn — 
Bellot Testimonial — Greenwich — Lecture at Southampton — 
Illness — Voyage to Rotterdam, and up the Shine — Ems — 
Death — Conclusion, 304 



OF SIR W. E. PARRY. 



CHAPTER I. 

Lirth and Parentage— Childhood— School Life— "Yille de Paris"— 
Attachmeat to Home — Early Religious Character — First Sea-Fight — 
" Tribune" — a Prize — " Vanguard" — Danish Gun-Boats — Recreation 
and Study — a Temptation resisted — Lieutenant's Commission. 

1790—1810. 

William Edward Parry, fourth son of Dr. Caleb 
Hillier Parry, and Sarah, his wife, was born at Bath, 
December 19th, 1790. His father was a physician of 
considerable celebrity, and the author of numerous 
writings on professional and other scientific subjects. 
His mother was the daughter of John Rigby, Esq., 
of Lancaster, and the grand-daughter of Dr. Taylor of 
Norwich, well known as a Hebrew scholar, and the 
writer of several theological works. It is needless to 
trace back the pedigree further ; but " Sitric of the 
Silken Beard,"* whose name stands over the crest of 
the family, was no unfitting ancestor for one who en- 
countered perils worthy of an old sea-king, and who 

* Preface to G-ray's poem, "The Fatal Sisters." 



14 MEMOIES OF 

adopted for his watchword in life their other brief but 
expressive motto — " tey." 

Edward, as the boy was always called, received the 
first rudiments of education in the Grammar School of 
Bath, under the tuition of Dr. Morgan, then head 
master. That he did not, even at an early age, neglect 
the opportunities of improvement there afforded, may 
be inferred from his knowledge of the Latin and Greek 
languages, which was by no means contemptible, and 
which must have been, for the most part, acquired be- 
fore leaving school ; for, though he continued the pe- 
rusal of classical authors afterwards, it was apparently 
only to a limited extent, the chief portion of his time 
being then devoted to mathematics, and other branches 
of study more immediately connected with the naval 
profession. 

For the history of his boyish years we are mainly 
dependent on the recollections of his youngest and only 
surviving sister. " He was," she says, " a very for- 
ward child, and showed great aptitude in acquiring and 
retaining knowledge. His love of music, and excellent 
ear for time and tune, were also early manifested. I 
have heard his mother say, that, at four years old, he 
would catch any air after once hearing it, and that he 
would sing ' Eule Britannia ' with all the spirit and 
energy of a man." When he was five years old, being 
taken by his parents to pay a visit to a lady of their 
acquaintance, and allowed to run about the house in 
search of amusement, he was shortly discovered alone 
in the library, astride on a large globe, v What, Ed- 
ward !" exclaimed his kind hostess, " are you riding on 
the globe?" "Oh! yes," replied the delighted boy, 
with glistening eyes and upraised arms, "how I should 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 15 

like to go round it!" Almost prophetic words, and 
never forgotten by those who then heard thern. 

He is represented as enjoying great popularity among 
Dr. Morgan's pupils ; and this we can well understand 
to have been the case, when we know that, to extreme 
gentleness and amiability of disposition, he united a re- 
markable delight in boyish sports of every description. 
However school-boys may often fail in appreciating the 
excellence of a character unaccompanied by a readiness 
to engage in the more active amusements of boyhood, 
they are never slow to admire mental worth, when 
combined with physical superiority. Such a happy 
union of qualities was found in young Parry. " A time 
for every thing," seems to have been his motto in his 
earliest years, as well as in later life. 

"We find him pictured to us at this time a handsome 
boy, with a profusion of golden curls, his complexion 
tanned by constant exposure to the sun, and good-na- 
ture beaming in every glance of his dark hazel eye. 
Tall and athletic beyond his years, he was never known 
to abuse his strength in persecuting those weaker than 
himself, but was, on the contrary, the willing champion 
of the oppressed. His sister relates that, on one occa- 
sion, he came to his father, as was always his custom 
under any difficulty, and said : " Father, I want your 

advice ; I can't bear to see that big boy Gr beating 

and ill-treating little H — — . I have rescued him once 

or twice, and this morning Gr turned upon me, 

and we fought, and I think I should have beaten him 
if the school -bell had not rung. He has challenged me 
on Saturday on Lansdowne, and all the big boys are to 
be present. Do you think I should meet him ?" His 
father, after a few moments' reflection, asked him the 



16 MEMOIRS OF 

age of his antagonist. "Fifteen," was the reply. "And 
you are not yet twelve ? Try all you can to avoid a 
battle, and by expostulation to prevent his tormenting 
your little friend ; but, if nothing else will do, you 
must fight ; but be cool, and do not give way to anger." 
He went, and returned victorious, but with a dislocated 
finger; for this, however, he cared little, "for now," 

said he, " little H will be safe." 

He was not originally intended for the naval profession, 
but for that of a physician, and, indeed, until within a 
few days of going to sea, had never himself had any 
other view. The decision which finally fixed his future 
course was made very suddenly. Miss Cornwallis, an 
intimate friend of Dr. Parry and his family, had often 
advised, and even solicited, that Edward should be al- 
lowed to become a sailor, feeling confident that his 
character and tastes were well adapted for an active life 
of that description. Admiral the Honorable W. Corn- 
wallis, this lady's near relative, was in command of the 
Channel fleet, off Brest ; and when the " Yille de Paris" 
(Captain Ricketts) was on the point of leaving England 
to join that fleet, as the flag-ship, it was yielded to her 
representations that the boy should be allowed to make 
trial of a sea-life, at least for one cruise. "When asked 
his own choice, he professed himself ready to do what- 
ever his parents wished, and was, accordingly, in June, 
1803, through the kindness of the Admiral, appointed 
to the "Yille de Paris," as a volunteer of the first 



The evening before he left home to join his ship, it 
so happened that a play was to be performed by the 
members of Dr. Morgan's school, in aid of some chari- 
table object. Edward had always shown considerable 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 17 

talent in this line, and frequently, with, the aid of his 
sisters, would act scenes from Shakspeare, and Mrs. H. 
More's sacred dramas. On this occasion his services 
were called into requisition by his schoolfellows, who 
were well aware of his skill in acting ; and, in the 
course of the evening, he sustained three different cha- 
racters, each with great applause from the spectators. 
They would have been surprised, could they have fore- 
seen the strange use to which this talent was to be 
turned in the future scenes of the profession on which 
he was about to enter. 

Early the next morning he left Bath, accompanied 
by an old and faithful servant of the family, with whom 
he travelled to Plymouth, and who did not leave him 
till he saw him finally settled in the " Yille de Paris.' 
To Parry all was new. He had never before beheld 
the sea, and his experience of naval matters had been 
confined to the small craft on the river Avon. Thomas 

B , on his return to Bath, described how his young 

master seemed almost struck dumb with astonishment 
at his first sight of the sea and of a line-of-battle ship, 
but how, after a while recovering himself, he began 
eagerly to examine every thing around him, and to ask 
numberless questions of all who were inclined to listen. 
While so engaged, he saw one of the sailors descending 
the rigging from aloft, and, in a moment, before the 
astonished servant knew what he was about, he sprang 
forward, and, with his wonted agility, clambered up to 
the mast-head, from which giddy elevation he waved 
his cap in triumph to those whom he had left below. 
When he regained the deck, the sailors, who had wit- 
nessed the feat, gathered round him, and commended 
his spirit, telling him he was u a fine fellow, and a true 



18 MEMOIRS OF 

sailor, every inch of him." We can well imagine with 
what gratification the various members of his family 
would receive the account of this and every other inci- 
dent connected with his first entry on his new career, 
and how eagerly they would hail his conduct on this 
occasion as a happy omen of future success. 

He never allowed an opportunity to pass without 
writing to those most interested in his welfare ; and his 
letters, from the first, breathe thoughout a willingness 
to disregard the necessary discomforts of a sea life, and 
to be pleased with all he saw around him. 

"We have" (he writes, shortly after joining the flag- 
ship) " every thing to make us happy ; and, I assure you 
that, if we are not so, it is our own fault. . . . You can 
not think how many little conveniences there are on 
board a ship, which you would not suppose there could 
be. In many of the cabins we can read, write, draw, etc., 
without feeling the motion of the ship. If you want to 
take a walk, you have only to walk the quarter-deck for 
half an hour ; if you want any violent exercise, run up 
to the main-top-gallant-mast-head, and I am sure it will 
do you as much good as walking from 27, Circus, Bath, to 
Summer Hill." 

Parry was peculiarly fortunate in making his first 
trial of a sailor's life under the command of officers 
who were desirous and capable of winning the esteem 
and affection of those placed under them. Our young 
volunteer, in his letters, speaks most warmly of the 
kindness he experienced from the officers of his ship. 
" The Admiral and Captain Kicketts," he writes, "are 
most kind to me. They are- always doing something 
to make me comfortable." He found a true friend in 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 19 

cne of the lieutenants of the ship, the Hon. Charles 
Pcwys. of whom he thus speaks : 

"January 4, 1804. ' Yille de Paris: 
. . . . " You can not imagine how kindly I have been 
treated by Mr. Powys. Ever since I have been in this 
ship he has left nothing undone to make me happy, in 
which he has certainly succeeded. If he ever sees me 
the least melancholy, he is uneasy till he has discovered 
the cause. He is always displeased if I do not ask him 
for any thing I want, as he says it shows a want of con- 
fidence in him. In short, in him I have found a friend, 
to whose kindness I am in great measure indebted for my 
present happiness, and whom, I trust, I shall never forget 
as long as I live. I look on him as a kind of prop and 
support to me in my first setting out. By going into his 
cabin — by -his instructions in seamanship, (which he is 
always ready to give me) — by reading English and Latin 
with him, etc., etc. — I really believe that I learn as much 
in a day as, without him, I should do in a week." 

This officer, whose kindness had so won the heart of 
his young shipmate, left the " Yille de Paris" in the 
course of this year, (1804,) and, not many months after, 
was carried off by fever in the West-Indies. The tid- 
ings of his death were received by his youthful friend 
with the liveliest feelings of sorrow. 

"Oct. 10, 1804. 
.... a I am sorry to say I have received very melan- 
choly news. My dear friend Mr. Powys is no more. 
This account the Admiral has just received. Few people 
feel it so much as myself, as nothing could exceed the 
kindness with which he treated me during the whole time 



20 MEMOIRS OF 

he was on board. ... To him I owe almost every little 
advantage I have had since I have been here, of whom, 
when I think, and while I write, my heart as well as my 
eyes are brim full." 

From the day when his servant left him on board 
the " Yille de Paris," in Plymouth Harbor, he adhered 
firmly to his resolution of letting nothing hinder him 
in a diligent attention to his studies. In the prosecu- 
tion of these, he was much indebted to the watchful 
care paid to the education of the junior officers by the 
Eev. "W. Morgan, Chaplain of the ship, afterwards 
Chaplain of the Eoyal Naval School at Greenwich. 

He writes : 

" April 7, 1804. 

" I am going on with my French and navigation, and 
beginning to make use of my c Dictionnaire Marine.' I 
first write down in English any part of the ship's duty 
with which I am acquainted, and then translate it into 
French. At the same time I go on with navigation ; and 
though I have for some time left off Euclid, I shall now 
(by Mr. Morgan's advice) continue to devote part of my 
time to it, as it gives me an insight into Plane Trigonome- 
try, which is connected with almost every branch of 
navigation, and may, therefore, as well be learnt out of 
one book as another. I have been glad to find that I 
have forgotten very little of my Latin, not that I can say 
as much of my Greek. I find, however, that I can trans- 
late the Greek Testament pretty tolerably. My father 
says that amongst other books which he intends to send 
me is a Greek Testament. I have one already, but it is 
so small that they have been obliged to make use of the 
old abbreviations, which, in learning Greek, I had never 
known.' v- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 21 

During the whole of his service on board the " Yille 
de Paris," this ship was employed in cruising about 
the Channel, being chiefly occupied in blockading the 
French coast in the neighborhood of Brest and Ushant. 
The eyes of England were at this time fixed upon Bou- 
logne, in expectation of an invasion by Bonaparte, 
and the movements of the French fleets were anxiously 
watched by the British Admirals. Parry joined, with 
all a sailor's ardor, in the enthusiastic longing felt by 
all for a collision with the enemy, and his youthful 
eagerness for such an event displays itself in many of 
his letters. " No more news of Mr. Bony yet, and the 
wind has been fair for him lately. If he does not make 
haste, he will lose all the balls and plays, and he will 
not like that." 

Not the leastf attractive part of his youthful charac- 
ter is to be seen in his constant clinging to home ties. 
His almost childish delight at receiving letters and 
parcels from Bath, and the eagerness which he showed 
for intelligence respecting those most dear to him, are 
early signs of his appreciation of domestic enjoyment, 
and the value of family union. We can scarcely doubt 
that the recollection of those days had their share in 
the unfailing punctuality observed by him, in after 
life, in corresponding with the absent members of his 
beloved family circle, especially with that dear son, 
whose lot was cast in the same profession as his own. 
The following letter is only a sample of many to the 
same effect : 

"My Dearest Mother: I have again been made 
truly happy by a dear long letter from my dear mother, 
and my sisters have been good and regular correspondents, 



22 MEMOIRS OF ' 

for which I do not know how to thank them. Whilst I 
see others on board frequently hoping to receive letters 
by every opportunity that offers, and almost as often 
disappointed, I have the satisfaction of receiving three or 
four and never going without one. Indeed, so happy 
and fortunate have I been in this respect ever since I 
have been in the navy, that ' Parry's receiving letters ' has 
become quite a proverb, and my not receiving any, when 
an opportunity offered, next to a miracle. I wish, my 
dear mother, I could tell you any thing worth telling. 
One thing, which I know will delight you as much as any 
thing you can hear from me, is, that I am as happy and 
comfortable as possible. Happy, I certainly am, as to 
my situation ; most particularly so, as to my dear, dear 
relations — that is my greatest happiness. My own imme- 
diate comforts are nothing in comparison with what I feel 
for the happiness of those I love." 

This strong tie of home affection was, doubtless, 
intimately connected with the growth of his religious 
character. In this respect Parry was singularly 
favored. His home was not merely a happy one, 
but he had been trained under the watchful eye and 
judicious care of an affectionate and pious mother, to 
whom he, in his turn, was devotedly attached, and 
whose Christian influence he knew well how to ap- 
preciate. "If," he used to say to his sisters, " we 
are not what we ought to be, it is not for want of 
our dear mother's prayers, for we are the children of 
prayer — of never-ceasing prayer." The religion of 
his early years was, indeed, widely different in charac- 
ter from that of his later life ; and of the expansion 
and enlightenment of his views, which afterwards took 
place, we shall have occasion to speak at a later period 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 23 

t 

Meanwhile, the influence for good, resulting from 
youthful training, is manifested in many of his early 
letters, which exhibit a conscientious wish to follow 
the good for its own sake, and a seriousness of feeling 
not often found in one so young — the germ of the 
earnest desire of the man to employ all his energies of 
mind and body for the furtherance of God's glory and 
the spiritual welfare of his fellow-men. This may be 
seen in the following, penned the year after he went 
to sea, on the occasion of the death of one of his 
brothers : 

" My Dearest Father and Mother : You may well 
imagine my feelings on receiving, this morning, the ac- 
count of dear Frederick's death. I hope that God, of 
His infinite mercy, will give us all fortitude to bear so 
great a misfortune. I trust that whenever we begin to 
relapse into grief, He will be our support, and will enable 
us to make the reflection : l God, who laid the affliction 
on us, will give us power to bear it.' He has done it, 
and what He does must turn out eventually for our good." 

On one occasion only was the " Ville de Paris" en- 
gaged in action during the time he belonged to her. 
On the 22d August, 1805, a few weeks previous to the 
battle of Trafalgar, in obedience to Napoleon's positive 
orders, the French Admiral in Brest left that harbor 
with twenty-one sail of the line, to attack the sixteen 
under the command of Admiral Cornwallis, in hopes 
that the combined French and Spanish fleets under 
Yilleneuve would arrive from the southward, and in- 
sure the destruction of the British blockading squadron. 
The expected reinforcements, however, never appeared, 



24 MEMOIRS OF 

having take refuge in Cadiz, after Sir E. Calder's ac- 
tion ; and Grantheaume returned to Brest harbor, with- 
out having ventured beyond the protection of the 
batteries in Bertheaume Eoads. Although the Eng- 
lish Admiral was unable to bring the enemy to a 
general action, some of the ships were actually en- 
gaged for a short time, and among these the flag-ship. 
Of this, his first experience in actual warfare, Parry 
thus speaks : 

" The account which the newspapers 
have given you is rather exaggerated. ... It cer- 
tainly was the prettiest sight I ever saw in my life. It 
is astonishing how little fear one feels after the very he- 
ginning of an action. Every one is busy thinking of 
injuring, not of being injured." 

In the early part of 1806 he left the "Ville de 
Paris," bearing with him the highest character at the 
end of this, the first stage of his professional career. 
The opinion entertained of him by Admiral Cornwallis 
is recorded in the following terms : " Parry is a fine, 
steady lad. I never knew any one so generally ap- 
proved of. He will receive civility and kindness from 
all while he continues to conduct himself as he has 
done, which, I dare believe, will be as long as he 
lives." 

His next appointment w& s as Midshipman of the 
" Tribune," frigate, Captain (afterwards Sir Thomas) 
Baker. This second period of his nautical experience 
shows an unabated energy and perseverance in fitting 
himself for the requirements of his profession, by a 
zealous discharge of duty, and attention to the im- 
provement of his time. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 25 

It was not long before his good resolutions were put 
to the test. He had not been many days on board his 
new ship, when his Captain paid him the compliment 
of selecting him to perform the duties of day -mate, 
which position seems to have prevented him from 
giving so much of his time to his books as formerly. 
It gave him, however, a practical insight into that por- 
tion of a naval officer's duties which otherwise he could 
not have had. 

" ' Tribune; off Belle Isle, June 21, 1806. 
" I am going on very comfortably in my new situation. 
1 Early to bed, and early to rise,' is my maxim at present. 
I find, however, that I have not, on the whole, so much 
time of my own as when I kept watch ; for now I can 
not be sure of a minute in which I am not liable to be 
sent for on a hundred different occasions. ... I 
have, in a former letter, given you a true account of my 
situation with regard to the duty I have to do. I often 
regret our not having any church or prayers here, which 
is one of the comforts to which I have been so constantly 
accustomed on board the - Ville de Paris.' However, 
the outward show is not of much use ; and while I can 
enjoy the comfort of a good conscience, and of address- 
ing myself when I please to my Creator, and the happi- 
ness of reading books which will serve to teach me the 
religion I profess, I do not see much reason to lament the 
want of a black gown, a pulpit, or an organ. My more 
quiet and composed hours shall be employed in my duty 
to my Maker and Heavenly Father, whilst I shall be 
endeavoring, on occasions of duty, to please my officers 
and companions. I have lately got into a habit of tracing 
any little uneasiness I may experience at any time 
throughout, from the causes to their consequences and 
2 



26 MEMOIRS OF 

effects. By this means, I always can derive some good 
from it, and I never leave off without acknowledging 
that ' Every thing is for the best,' or without thanking 
in my heart the goodness of my Creator, for that very 
uneasiness, (as I was at first pleased to call it,) which is 
always but a real blessing in disguise. I could mention 
fifty instances of this, as they have made a strong im- 
pression on me, and I now make it my usual plan. I am 
determined never, if possible, to be angry or discon 
tented at any of these things which every day take place, 
for that is only, in other words, to call in question tht 
goodness of God." 

At this period he speaks of an expected action, and 
vividly describes his own feelings under the immediate 
prospect of battle. 

"Off Belle Isle, June 3, 1806. 
"Yesterday, at dinner, the Captain said he expected 
an action every day, as the 'Regulus,' (74,) and two 
other French ships (frigates) are expected here; so you 
can imagine how anxiously we are looking out for them. 
I am, for my own part, prepared in every way, both in 
my duty as a Christian and as an officer. The former 
will be my comfort, in the idea that God is always pre- 
sent, and that (should it please Him to save my life 
through these dangers) my trust will be in Him ; and 
the latter will, I know, not fail me, unless the formei 
does. I assure you, that whenever I may go into action, 
I shall never do so thoughtlessly. I shall always carry 
in my mind who is my Protector and my Friend ; whilst 
my body is doing my duty as an officer, my heart shall 
be raised much higher, and shall be secretly (at least to 
the world) imploring a blessing from my Heavenly Fa- 
ther. Thus prepared, what have I to fear on such an 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 27 

occasion as going into action? I am not naturally a 
coward ; and this, added to the knowledge of the Being 
who protects me, should make me bold indeed !" 

After having discharged the duties of "day-mate", 
for nearly three months, he was advanced to the sig- 
nals, a post more to his taste than the former, and one 
which, he had before filled in the "Yille de Paris," 
where his attention and quickness of eyesight had al- 
ready earned him distinction. He does not fail to ex- 
press his gratitude to "good Captain Baker" for his 
kindness. The following anecdote further illustrates 
the good understanding between them. He had been 
invited, in his turn, to dine with the captain, and, in 
the course of conversation, a difference of opinion arose 
between them respecting some of the rigging attached to 
the mainyard. After some little discussion, Parry appa- 
rently yielded to the judgment of his superior officer ; 
"hut, after about an hour's interval, when the guests re- 
turned to the cabin for coffee, he produced a small 
rough model of the points in dispute, which he had 
prepared in the mean time. This gave such certain 
evidence that he had been in the right, that the captain 
good-naturedly acknowledged himself fairly beaten by 
his midshipman. 

For two years the " Tribune" was employed, as the 
" Yille de Paris " had been, in cruising off the French 
coast. He displays the same anxiety as before to meet 
the enemy, and have his name mentioned in the home 
dispatches. At one time he dwells on the disappoint- 
ment caused by the escape of a large fleet of French 
merchantmen, off the coast of Brittany; and, subse 
quently, with proportionate glee, on the capture of a 



28 MEMOIES OF 

French, vessel, on board of which he was himself placed 
as prize-master. Such a charge was a position of no 
small gratification to a youngster of seventeen, and he 
always retained a lively recollection of the event. The 
cargo of the captured vessel consisted of salted sari lines 
and French wines; and he used to relate, with, his 
wonted humor, how he and his prize crew feasted on 
the former, till their excessive thirst drove them to 
the wine, as a dire necessity under the circumstances ! 

In the spring of 1808, Captain Baker was promoted 
from the command of the "Tribune" to that of the 
" Vanguard," (74,) which belonged to the Baltic fleet. 
Though, for many reasons, Parry would have preferred 
remaining in a frigate, to serving in a line-of-battle- 
ship, he was anxious to follow his old captain. To his 
great delight, the desired exchange was effected with- 
out difficulty. 

The "Vanguard" returned to the Med way in No- 
vember, and, having obtained leave of absence, he spenl 
Christmas at his father's house in Bath. He writes on 
his return to his ship : 

" Well! it is indeed just like a dream, it seems impos- 
sible that a day or two should be sufficient to change 
one's situation so completely ; yet I am very happy. I 
am myself possessing a thousand blessings, of which many 
others are almost ignorant, or of which they know only 
sufficient to be convinced that they want them !" 

In the spring of 1809, the "Vanguard" sailed once 
more for the Baltic, but not under her former command- 
er. Captain Baker relinquished his command, in con- 
sequence of his marriage, and Captain Grlyn was ap- 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 29 

pointed to succeed him. Sorry as our young sailor 
was to lose one who had always treated him so kindly, 
it was not long before he attached himself to his new 
captain, with feelings of respect and gratitude. They 
were soon engaged in active work. It required all the 
vigilance of the British captains to protect their convoy 
from the formidable flotilla of gun-boats which had 
been prepared by the Danes. During this summer, 
Parry commanded a gun-boat attached to the "■ Yan- 
guard," and came frequently into collision with the 
enemy, whose powers of annoyance he knew how to 
respect. 

" I only wish," he writes, " the people in England 
would be convinced that these Danish gun-boats are not 
gun-boats, or would give them some more respectable 
name ; for they really are the only kind of vessel which 
the English navy have reason (not to dread, but) to 
guard against. It is a shame that a British squadron 
should be obliged to confess themselves annoyed by 
boats ! But they are not gun-boats, and there the dis- 
grace ends." 

His taste for music proved to him at this time a 
source of great pleasure, in the hours of relaxation from 
duty. His violin, on which instrument he was anxious 
to become a proficient, was his companion during this 
summer cruise in the Baltic. 

"I have been practising three or four hours to-day on 
the fiddle. I don't know whether I improve or not, but 
I will do all I can, for there are so many scraping and 
blowing constantly about me, that the idea of playing as 
badly as they makes me quite sick. Music is a delight- 



30 MEMOIKS OF 

ml thing, and I would sacrifice almost every thing, except 
my other duties, to become a good or tolerable player. I 
have never forgotten what I have been told, namely, that 
' musicians are often great heathens.' ~I therefore never 
suffer the fiddle to utter a syllable of complaint more 
than six days out of seven. On the seventh, it must keep 
its groans to itself." 

It was, doubtless, in reference to the musical discord, 
here described as reigning in the " Vanguard's " gun- 
room, that he was accustomed, in after life, to relate a 
jesting remark, intended as a compliment to his own 
instrument, made to him by one of the senior officers 
of the ship, that he constantly heard from below " the 
notes of many fiddles, and one violin ! " 

The following letter, on the same subject, is interest- 
ing, from the characteristic feeling which it also dis- 
plays for another's sorrow. 

" ' Vanguard,' Great Belt, Aug. 1 3. 
. . . . " I am sorry to say I am just on the point 
of losing the most pleasant and amiable companion I have 

had in this ship, namely, Lieut. B . I have had so many 

pleasant evenings in playing the violin, accompanied by 
the flute, which he plays very prettily indeed, that I shall 
often miss him. His health is so very bad, and his con- 
stitution so extremely weak, that he is obliged to go to 
England by the first opportunity. Every one esteems 
him, and he will be universally lamented. His complaint 
has, indeed, more of the appearance of consumption than 
any thing else, and I agree with himself in supposing that 
he is not long for this world. He has neither father nor 
mother, but is, with his sisters, under the care of guard- 
ians. We are particularly fond of a tune called, c The Si- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 31 

cilian Mariner's Hymn,' which is one of the most solemn 
and beautiful I ever heard. It was played at the burial 
of one or both of his parents. I could see the tears gush 
from his eyes as we were playing it, and he was obliged 
to leave off. I could not help keeping him company in 
the latter part of his performance." 

Music, however, was not the only recreation in which 
he indulged. His love for Cowper, mentioned in the 
following, remained the same throughout life, and he 
often declared that he regarded him as the chief of 
poets. 

" I have just been going on with Cowper's Poems. I 
never was so much delighted with any thing in my life. 
Though I have* read them before, yet I never fully en- 
tered into and understood them properly. I am sure 
you would split your sides sometimes, to see me when I 
am in ecstasies with reading them. I laugh, I cry, and 
always end with saying : ' What a most excellent man 
and Christian he must have been, and how well acquaint- 
ed with mankind !' " 

These lighter pursuits, though so congenial to his 
taste, he never permitted to interfere with his profes- 
sional duties. He speaks with real pleasure of the ap- 
pointment of an efficient naval instructor, under whom 
he might improve himself in the study of mathematics 
and navigation ; and he always showed a similar 
anxiety to exert himself in the acquisition of every 
species of knowledge which can be of advantage to a 
seaman. 

" My Dear Father : It gives me the most sincere 
pleasure to know, that your thoughts on the subject of 



32 MEMOIRS OF 

pilotage coincide exactly with what appears to me so rea- 
sonable. I have often taken great pains to make the in- 
quiries you mention, namely, the marks, shoals, dangers, and 
methods of avoiding them, and have been as often aston- 
ished to find that few, or none, seemed the least inclined 
to assist me in these occupations, though, thereby, they 
would be instructing themselves. The fact is exactly as 
you say, that they are too lazy to attend to this most ne- 
cessary branch of sea-knowledge, because they are not 
expected to know it. Yet, to see the situation in which 
ships are sometimes placed, you would suppose that no 
man, in his senses, would fail to make himself master of 
so invaluable a knowledge as that of pilotage." 

The age of nineteen, according to the.regulations of 
the naval service, was the earliest period at which a 
lieutenant's commission could be held. It seems, how- 
ever, to have been a common practice to forestall the 
requisite age by a false representation, and this Parry 
was repeatedly urged to do, the six years of his service 
having expired some months before he reached his nine- 
teenth birthday. To all such solicitations he turned a 
deaf ear, being too upright and straightforward to take 
advantage of a practice, which, however usual, was still 
unfair and untruthful. His determination to abide by 
the decision of his better judgment is shown in the fol- 
lowing : 

" ' Vanguardf Belt, Jane 4, 1809. 
"I have made up my mind very com- 
fortably to wait six months, till my nineteenth birth-day. 
It is very astonishing to me, that I am every day abused 
by some body or other, for not going to pass my examin- 
.ation at once, as soon as I have served my six years. 



srra w. e. pasky. S3 

They tell me I could certainly pass for nineteen or more, 
if I chose to try ; all this I know very well, but there is 
so much to be said in opposition to it, which seems much 
more sensible, that they may as well say nothing more 
about it." 

And again : 

"Six midshipmen have passed their examinations, 
which is not a customary thing at sea, but has been 
granted by the Admiral, as we are at so great a distance 
from England. One or two of them were much under 
age, and I have been not a little railed at, on this and 
many other occasions, for not having done the same. I 
expect to see all these receive commissions before I pass, 
but I do not care for that, I am very well satisfied to 
wait." 

The time, however, at length arrived. The " Van- 
guard " returned to the Downs in December, and Parry 
went up to town, where he remained in lodgings until 
the ordinary examinations were concluded. He passed 
for lieutenant on the 3d of January, 1810, and through 
the kindness of Lord Lowther, one of the Lords of the 
Admiralty, obtained his commission two days after. 
"I have at length," he wrote to Bath, "the happiness 
of telling you that you may now call me Lieutenant 
Paeey ! " 



2* 



3-1 MEMOIRS 0.7 



CHAPTEK II. 

Joins the "Alexandria" — Danish Gun-Boats — Polar Ice — Astronomical 
Studies — Appointment to "La Hogue," and Voyage to Halifax — 
Boat Expedition up the River Connecticut — Leaves "La Hogue " — 
Illness — Bermudas — Returns Home — Appointment to the "Alex- 
ander" under Ross. 

1810—1817. 

Early in February, 1810, Lieut. Parry proceeded 
to Sheerness to join the "Alexandria" frigate, Captain 
John Quilliam. This vessel being of the smaller class 
of frigates, a lieutenant's cabin would necessarily be of 
very limited size ; but to a young officer, the posses- 
sion, for the first time, of a retreat he can call his own, 
is a matter of no small importance. Parry's first busi- 
ness was the furnishing of this, his " Castle," as he 
termed it. 

" c Alexandria? Sheerness, February 19, 1810. 
" I think I can not better employ myself, for half-an- 
hour after breakfast, than by giving you a description of 
my cabin, which is now nearly complete. I told you it 
was about six or seven feet square. Its door (which 
opens into the gun-room, where we dine, etc.) is in the 
middle of one of its sides, and on the right is a small 
window, looking also into the gun-room ; facing you, as 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 35 

you go in, is a very pretty chest of drawers, and over it 
is my library, which makes no shabby appearance, I assure 
you. Just over the middle of the drawers is a small win- 
dow, not a foot square, from which proceeds all the light 
which my cabin possesses. Upon the back row of books 
stands a small oval looking-glass, * neat but not gaudy.' 
The bed-place is converted in the day-time into a very 
convenient and pretty sofa. "Next the washing-stand is 
a small table, which, like the table in the hall at the Cir- 
cus, lets up and down. Let not the table in the Circus 
think itself degraded by such a comparison, for, be it 
known, mine is made of cedar ; Lebanon itself never pro- 
duced a finer piece of stuff! for the sake of distinction, 
call this table ' Lebanon.' Under i Lebanon ' are boots, 
etc. — over it are hung my sword, dirk, work-bag — and 
immediately over the middle of it is the brass branch can- 
dlestick, which, you may remember, I got at Bath ; and, 
last, though not least, over the candlestick is hung the 
little picture of the ' Alexandria,' which, among other 
thing, serves constantly to remind me of the happiness I 
have enjoyed at Bath." 

In March the "Alexandria" left the Nore, with a 
convoy for the Baltic. After a long continuance of 
unfavorable winds, they reached the 'Great Belt, where 
they received information that the Swedish ports were 
closed against them. " The very name of Belt," writes 
Parry, " suggests the idea of gun-boats ;" and it was not 
long before these formidable foes showed themselves as 
much on the alert as ever. The " Alexandria " was 
frequently engaged with the Danish schooners and gun- 
boats, which, being armed with 32-pounders, were often 
more than a match for the 12-pounders of the British 
frigate. It was seldom, indeed, that they ventured to 



38 MEMOIRS OF 

come to close quarters with the men-of-war, but it was 
not possible for the latter to prevent the loss of some 
of their convoy on a dark night. The boats of the 
enemy were so small as to escape detection for some 
time, and the merchant vessels under the protection of 
the British flag, especially those of foreign nations, 
showed great carelessness and inattention to orders, in 
many cases keeping no night-watch. It was therefore 
no matter of surprise, that, on the first alarm, some of 
the convoy should be seen already " taking their leave," 
while the difficult navigation of the Belt rendered a re- 
capture by night next to impossible. 

During the first part of this year, the " Alexandria " 
was stationed off Carlscrona, where the Swedes, though 
not yet actually at war with England, were making 
active preparations for defense by sea and land, "in 
case," says Parry, "we should be inclined to Copenhagen 
them." The Swedish fleet in the harbor consisted of 
thirteen sail of the line, and the entrance was secured 
by a chain across. " That fleet," he writes, in May, 
" ought to have been in Yarmouth Eoads by this 
time." 

" The Alexandria " returned to the Thames in the 
winter, and in January of the next year was placed on 
the Leith station, under the command of Captain Cath- 
cart, for the protection of the Spitzbergen whale-fish 
ery. During the two years spent on this service, they 
were again continually annoyed by the gun-boats of 
the enemy. 

In the winter of 1811-12, the "Alexandria" remained 
for some weeks at Cromarty. The hospitality of the 
Scotch rendered this stay pleasant to the officers of the 
ship, especially to Parry, who, in company with the 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 37 

captain and surgeon, enjoyed a "cruise " of several days 
in the neighborhood. He was much delighted with 
Inverness, and the new Caledonian Canal. This he 
pronounced "a truly grand undertaking," little think- 
ing that his own name would one day be officially con- 
nected with it. 

In the course of the year 1812, being still engaged 
in the protection of the fisheries, Captain Cathcart re- 
ceived orders to proceed as far as 76° 1ST., and to re- 
turn with the last of the whalers at the close of the sea- 
son. 

" We must," (writes Parry to his sister,) " in anticipa- 
tion of this freezing cruise, make up our minds to cheat 
the summer as comfortably as we can among the bears 
and seals on the ice. What curiosities shall I bring you 
back ? Would you like an island of ice ? a few white bears 
as pets, or half-a-dozen seals ? Of all these, we shall per- 
haps see plenty before we return." 

In the preceding autumn he had recorded, as worthy 
of especial remark, that phenomenon, with which he 
afterwards became so familiar, the appearance of the 
sun above the horizon at midnight, and in this summer 
he made his first acquaintance with the ice of the north- 
ern latitudes. While holding on their course towards 
Bear Island, (which lies midway between Spitzbergen 
and North Cape,) their progress was suddenly arrested 
by immense quantities of floating ice. For a few hours 
they persevered, steering a devious and difficult course 
between the frozen masses, but it soon became evident 
that further advance was out of the question. Baffled 
in their attempts to reach Bear Island, they turned to- 
wards North Cape, which had been their cruising 



3© MEMOIRS OF 

ground during part of the former year Even the bleak 
outline of the snow-capped hills of Lapland was hailed 
as an old and welcome friend, after the desolate expanse 
of the ice-fields they had just quitted. "The very 
snow itself seemed familiar to us." 

" On the 26th of June," he writes, " we observed seven 
or eight small vessels lying in a narrow harbor. We got 
them out the same evening without opposition, and had 
a few hours' run on shore into the bargain. This, in 
Lapland, was a new thing to me. The whole scene, 
which our little expedition presented to the eye, was such 
as could not fail to make an impression on the mind. 
From the top of this hill we had an extensive prospect of 
the surrounding country, which differed little in appear- 
ance from the sea-coast. 

" The sea was smooth, and scarcely a sound could be 
distinguished, but now and then the voices of some of our 
party, who were busily employed below. To make the 
whole more romantic, the hour was that of midnight, 
and, what does not often happen, I believe, in modern 
romances, the sun was two or three degrees above the 
horizon. Close to the shores of the harbor stood a little 
hut, in which the door could barely be distinguished from 
the windows, or the chimney from either. The hut was 
composed principally of turf, and its top was as green as 
could be expected, at so short a distance from the North 
Pole. Its inhabitants consisted of an old Norwegian 
woman, two or three children, one cow, and two sheep. 
We begged a little milk, and this she cheerfully gave, in 
a vessel which might be a pattern of cleanliness to the 
dairies of southern and more refined countries. I can 
scarcely imagine human nature in a condition much lower 
than this, at least in Europe ; yet, if happiness be truly 



SIR W. E. PARKY. ^U 

defined, the poor Norwegian woman has, probably, as 
large a share of it as we, who think ourselves so much 
more highly favored.'' 

The following was written, to his sister, after his 
return from the coast of Norway : 

" August 25, 1812. 

... ." I have a little way of talking seriously now and 
then, and, if such moments can, with propriety, be called 
melancholy, that melancholy is the most delightful sensa- 
tion I experience. Trust me, my dear — — , if some folks 
could read my thoughts on death, and on the glorious 
prospect of eternity, they would not believe I was a 
sailor. I fear our profession is not unjustly taxed with 
deficiency in this important point — nay, an English sailor 
and his religion are, proverbially, about as opposite as 
Calais and Dover. This puts me in mind of a little anec- 
dote, which, when I was left behind the other day at 
Gottenberg with some prizes, I intended to have com- 
mitted to paper. .... I was on shore, in the office of 
a person whose business it is to take the oaths and depo- 
sitions of the captors of the enemy's vessels. I was sitting- 
down, waiting till my turn came, and accidentally took up 
the Testament which was lying on the table. I read for 
a few moments, when the man of law gravely (and, as he 
thought, wittily) remarked : ' That is not the kind of book, 
sir, that exactly suits you ! ' It went to my soul! " 

In the study of astronomy Parry had always taken 
great pleasure. The following is dated Leith, Sep- 
tember, 1811: 

" It is a fashionable question to ask if you have 

seen the comet. You must know that I am rather proud 
on this subject, for I discovered it, at sea, some days 



40 MEMOIRS OF 

before receiving any intelligence of its having been seen 
elsewhere. I first saw it, and pointed it. out to the sur- 
geon of the ship, on the night of the beautiful central 
eclipse of the moon. It was not then very distinct, 
owing to the superior brilliancy of the moon at her full; 
and I only then remarked, that I was confident there was 
no planet, or any fixed star of the first or second mag- 
nitude in that spot, directly under the Great Bear. 
On the night after, I again saw it more clearly, and, 
two days after, the paper mentioned it. Since then, 
as the moon has been gradually waning, it has been 
more and more beautiful. . . . Astronomy is a delight- 
ful science; independently of the knowledge it con- 
veys as a science, it carries with it, to the mind of a 
human creature, the strongest lessons of humility ; at one 
view it sets forth the incomprehensible and infinite power 
of his Creator, and his own insignificance." 

For some time past, he had employed the tedious 
hours of a night-watch in studying the situation of the 
fixed stars in the Northern Hemisphere. The import- 
ance of being able to obtain the latitude and longitude 
by night as well as by day, " of observing by more 
suns than one," could not, he thought, be too highly 
estimated. The result of his observations afterwards 
appeared in a small volume, entitled, " Nautical Astro- 
nomy." His own experience had convinced him of the 
want of some elementary work on this subject, and this 
he desired to supply. "I have seen," he says, "two 
or three books on the subject, but, from the manner 
their authors have treated it, they must have consid- 
ered their readers as so many Herschells. They take so 
much knowledge for granted, that/ if the learner pos- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 41 

sesses it in reality, he will not thank them for their 
instruction." 

On several occasions, also, he occupied himself with 
preparing accurate charts of the northern navigation. 
Surveys of different localities on the shores of the 
Baltic had been sent by him to the hydrographer of 
the Admiralty; and, while on the Leith station, he 
forwarded to the same quarter charts of Balta Sound 
and Voe, a harbor on the north-east coast of Shetland. 

In January, 1813, Lieut. Parry left the "Alexan- 
dria," not without considerable regret. 

He writes from London : 

"I mean to go down to the 'Alexandria' again this even- 
ing. I can not well leave her these three or four days, as I 
have lots to do in the packing way, besides settling a hun- 
dred little things, which a residence of three years in one 
house, and a sudden removal to another, necessarily bring 
with it. Nobody, without experiencing it, can conceive the 
peculiar feeling connected with this kind of change. One 
becomes so insensibly attached to a ship, in which one 
has seen such a variety of good, bad, and indifferent, that, 
however much one may wish, for good reasons, to leave 
her, there is something inconceivably gloomy in the act 
of doing so. I know every plank in the l Alexandria ' as 
well as I know the letters of the alphabet." 

He was next appointed to H. M. S. "La Hogue" 
(74,) Captain the Hon. Bladen Capel, then at Halifax. 
During the past year, exertions had been made to pro- 
cure for him an appointment to that station, Sir F. 
Laforey having promised him his patronage, could this 
be effected. No opportunity, however, occurred, and 



42 MEMOIRS OF 

another officer received the expected vacancy, returning 
home with the rank of commander. 

While the " Sceptre," (84,) which was now to convey 
him to Halifax, was detained at Portsmouth by con- 
trary winds, Parry, for the first time, beheld a steam- 
engine at work, in the dockyard of that port. 

"JPortsmouth y Mb. 26, 1813. 
. ..." I have, this morning, been to see the block 
machinery worked by steam in the dockyard. I can not 
express to you how I have been delighted with this 
masterpiece of human invention. I never before saw a 
steam-engine ; but was rather pleased with myself in 
finding that, with the previous knowledge I had acquired 
of this wonderful moving-power, I could point out to my 
companion the uses of its several parts, as soon as I saw 
them, having several good plates of it in Ferguson, 
Imison, Gregory, etc. The extent to which it is here 
applied in the formation of blocks, etc., does not strike 
me as any thing more than a tolerable knowledge of 
mechanics might naturally have suggested when once 
the steam was made to perform its office in so wonderful 
and perfect a manner as it there does. The whole, how- 
ever, conveys the most grand idea of the indefatigable 
industry of man. ... I am confident that, if we live 
twenty years, we shall see steam applied to a hundred 
different purposes on board a ship ; I may be wrong in 
the method of applying it, but I am sure that much is to 
be done by steam in a ship." 

This, his first voyage, across the Atlantic was per- 
formed quickly, owing to favorable winds. 

" We have," he writes, " taken frequent and excellent 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 43 

observations on our passage, by night and day, and I 
have had a famous opportunity of using my instruments, 
which I may safely pronounce to be excellent. The theo- 
dolite I have, of course, had no occasion to use ; it is a 
sweet little instrument. The sight of a full moon, just 
about sunset, in these latitudes, is one of the most sub- 
lime I ever saw: the clearness with which it is seen is, I 
suppose, to be attributed to the rarity of the atmosphere. 
We did not alter a sail during the whole of our passage, 
and we made the shortest, but one, that was ever made 
with a convoy. . . . Independently of our nautical obser- 
vations, I can safely say, with a clear conscience, that I 
have not been idle on the passage. I don't think there 
is a Lieutenant in His Majesty's navy more fond of writ- 
ing than I am, and I am sure there is not one who knows 
how to make a worse pen ; but like Sterne, I have Only 
commenced my torn* in the world, and I shall mend as I 
go on. I have been so happy as to meet with a brother 
officer, who, like myself, 'knows only that he knows 
nothing,' and we have gone hand in hand together in our 
occupations. We have been going through Euclid again. 
He plays the flute, and we have our regular duets 
together: astronomy, mechanics, and chemistry have not 
been neglected, as far as reading will convey knowledge, 
without experiments in these delightful sciences." 

At Barbadoes, he was kindly received by Sir F. 
Laforey ; but the latter, being now superseded in his 
command by Sir J. B. Warren, no longer had it in his 
power to serve his young friend. He regretted that 
Parry " had not come out twelve months sooner, for, in 
that case, he would have been twelve months a com- 
mander." This was a great disappointment, but regret 
was useless. 



44 MEMOIRS o£ 

tt H. M. 8. 'jSceptreJ Barbadoes, 

April 23, 1813. 
" You will believe me, when I say, that I do not repine 
at having missed what to us, seems to have been a golden 
opportunity. We know not what might have happened, 
had I been promoted eighteen months ago, instead of six 
months hence ; I might have proved one of those intoler- 
able little-great-upstart captains, which, on very strict 
examination, are to be found in our navy. I might, I 
say, have been so ; I will not answer for myself that it 
would not have been the case. I consider this (and 
every other event of my life) as one of the innumerable 
means which an unseen Providence employs to educe 
great good from little evils ; we see it in a thousand in- 
stances, and, if we can not always trace out the good 
which results, it is because the creature can not follow 
the Creator." 

The " Sceptre" arrived at Halifax the 2d of June, 
1813. 

On the day previous, " the glorious 1st of June," the 
celebrated action between the "Shannon" and the 
" Chesapeake," off Boston, had taken place ; and, a few 
days later, Captain Broke, who had been severely 
wounded, entered the harbor of Halifax with his prize, 
anchoring amid loud cheers from the ships and specta- 
tors on shore. " Halifax," writes Parry, " is in such 
an uproar, that I doubt whether the folks will ever re- 
cover their tranquillity. 

The greater part of this autumn was spent in 
cruising off Nova Scotia. In November, a violent 
hurricane visited Halifax, driving from their anchors - 
all the men-of-war and merchantmen in the harbor 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 45 

which, presented a scene of desolation and distress sel- 
dom "witnessed. 

"The merchant vessels," he says, "first set the ex- 
ample, and, in a few minutes, every man-of-war was 
driving from her anchors. I think we should have held 
out, but for other vessels that came upon us in pretty 
quick succession. At length our turn came, and away we 
went on shore, in a very soft, convenient place. It was 
indeed so soft, and the rain so violent, with a pitch-dark 
night, that we did not know for some minutes that we 
were on shore. We lay there that night, and got off the 
next morning, having received no damage whatever. I 
have been thus circumstantial in 'La Hogue's' adven- 
tures, because I know that it will amuse my father, and 
make my dear mother easy." 

In the following spring, Lieut. Parry was engaged 
in a successful boat-expedition, attended with con- 
siderable danger. On more than one occasion, the 
enemy had endeavored to destroy the British ships 
by means of " Torpedos," a species of " infernal ma- 
chine ;" and, during one night in April, an attempt of 
this kind was made on "LaHogue," then lying off 
New-London. "This," he writes, "ended in smoke, 
or rather in no smoke at all ; for all the effect was the 
ducking of half-a-dozen people by the column of 
water forced up in the explosion." At the same mo 
ment, a boat was detected by the " Maidstone" frigate, 
containing one man, who pretended to have come off 
for the purpose of selling provisions. The lateness of 
the hour, however, and his muffled oars, combined 
with something uncommon in the appearance of the 



46 MEMOIRS OF 

man himself, raised the suspicions of the Captain, who 
detained him in irons. The man would not allow that 
he had any share in the attempt to blow up the ship, 
but, after a few days, offered, in consideration of being 
set at liberty, to pilot the boats of the squadron up to 
Pettipague Point, in the river Connecticut, where 
several American privateers and letters of marque 
were lying. " Torpedo Jack," as the sailors had dubbed 
their captive, was willing to prove the honesty of his 
intentions, by going himself, handcuffed, in one of the 
boats. An expedition was planned accordingly, con- 
sisting of six boats from "LaHogue," "Maidstone," 
and " Endymion," under the orders of Captain Coote, 
of the "Borer" brig. Parry commanded one of the 
boats, being third in seniority of the officers engaged ; 
and the account of this gallant exploit, for which a 
medal was afterwards awarded, may be given in his 
own words : 

"We proceeded in the 'Borer' to the mouth of the 
river, where she anchored, and we left her, at ten o'clock 
at night, in six good boats, containing 120 men, of whom 
40 were marines. We had only six or eight miles to 
row, but, on account of the tide, which at this season of 
the year always runs out of the river, did not get up to 
the shipping till break of day, and landed without oppo- 
sition, after warning the inhabitants, that, if a single shot 
were fired in the neighborhood, the town should be 
burnt. To make a short story of it, we were employed 
in burning vessels from daylight, at about half-past four 
till noon, when we hauled off into the stream of the 
river, in two of the finest vessels that were afloat. In 
these we lay four hours longer, eating and sleeping, 
within pistol-shot of the woods, in order to refresh our- 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 47 

selves for any further exertions which it might be neces- 
sary to make ; when lo, and behold ! we saw a boat, with 
a flag of truce, coming out from Lyme, which place, with 
a point on the opposite side of the river, formed its nar- 
rowest part, and, we could perceive, was destined to be 
the grand rendezvous of their force, in their attempt to 
stop our going back. The boat came alongside the 
schooner, where we were now all assembled, (having 
burnt the brig, which had grounded ;) and such an officer, 
bearing such a letter, nobody ever heard of or saw — a 
cobbler's hand, and many words wrongly spelt ! It was 
to demand a surrender. The style in which this was de- 
manded was enough to make us hold it in the greatest 
possible contempt, which the* answer that Captain Coote 
gave him was sufficient to show. Three cheers for Old 
England, before the boat was out of hearing, was the 
most expressive answer to their presumptuous demand ; 
and I verily believe that there was but one mind amongst 
us upon the occasion. Captain Coote determined upon 
our remaining where we were, in the schooner, till dusk, 
then to set fire to her, and push down the river. She 
made the twenty-seventh which we destroyed. Whilst 
daylight lasted, they were afraid to bring any thing 
against us where we then lay, for we should have landed 
immediately, and dispersed them ; but, as soon as it was 
dark, and we were just on the point of leaving her, they 
commenced a heavy fire of field-pieces and musketry 
from the woods close abreast of us. The tide was run- 
ning at the rate of three or four miles an hour in our 
favor, and we were soon away from the schooner. The 
grand point, at which their chief force was collected, as I 
before mentioned, was near Lyme and its opposite bank, 
(about two miles and a half below us,) and thither we 
drifted silently, without rowing, which would have warn 



48 MEMOIRS OP 

ed them of our approach. We observed them lighting 
their fires on the beach, which enabled them to see when 
we passed the ferry, not by the light which they threw 
on the water, which was inconsiderable, but they could 
see when any object passed between them and the fires 
opposite. This was very quickly the case with us, and a 
heavy fire commenced. We pulled rapidly past them in 
a few minutes, and then considered ourselves safe enough. 
When we went up the night before, we landed at a fort 
at the mouth of the river, and, finding no guns, merely 
threw down the flagstaff, to let them know we had been 
there. We knew, however, that they would have had 
time enough to get guns here now. When we came 
abreast of it, they opened a ♦third fire, but with no effect. 
Our only loss, in this truly well-conducted retreat, has 
been two killed belonging to the ' Maidstone,' and one 
wounded of 'La Hogue.' Several privateers, which 
would very soon have been ready for sea, were destroyed. 
Reckoning at the rate of £10 per ton, the value of the 
damage done would be near £50,000 ; and, as an im- 
mense quantity of stores were also burnt, it will not be 
above the mark to value the whole at £60,000 sterling. 
We have not yet seen the New-London account of it, but 
we hear that they are astonished. Independently of the 
stir we made there, (five or six leagues from this place,) 
we have also been actually the means of driving the 
American squadron from their anchorage several miles 
up the river. We imagined they must have gone up for 
the purpose of sending a large force from thence, round 
to Sayboro', to cut us off in our retreat ; if they did go, 
they were a day behind. Such is the outline of this little 
but well-conducted affair, of which you will soon see the 
official account."* 

* The brave loader of tills expedition, Captain Coote, was shortly 



SIR W. E. PARET. 49 

In the summer of 1814, Sir J. B. "Warren was suc- 
ceeded in his command by Sir A. Cockrane, and a 
more vigorous blockade of the American ports com- 
menced. " La Hogue" was still stationed off New-Lon- 
don, and, with the rest of the squadron, kept the whole 
coast in a state of alarm. Little, however, was actually 
done, the American ships of war in the Connecticut 
river not venturing out to sea. At length, Commo- 
dore Decatur, finding it had been impossible to break 
the blockade, even in the winter, and despairing of 
effecting it in the summer, prudently relinquished his 
inactive situation, and sent the crews of his ships round 
by land to man the "President," and others elsewhere. 

The prospect of peace held out by the abdication of 
Napoleon was hailed with joy by Parry, though it 
seriously impaired his expectations of promotion, so 
long delayed. He writes, under date of July 20, 
1814: 

" How glorious has been the issue of European affairs 
to our beloved country ! She has calmly and resolutely 
held out, in support of the common cause of nations, 
against the arm of despotism, which, but for her, might, 
ere this, have laid Europe under contribution. Heaven 
be praised ! she has been the means of leading back other 
nations, one by one, to a sense of their true interest, and 
has brought them to stand forth in defense of every thing 
that should be dear to them. We may now, indeed, 
boast of being Englishmen, for all Europe is our debtor. 
I don't like much the Elba business ; what say you to it ? 

afterwards lost at sea, greatly regretted by all, and by none more than 
Parry, who spoke of him as a "pattern to all the Captains of His Ma- 
jesty's Service." 



50 MEMOIRS OF 

Bonaparte will never, I think, be in quiet while lie 
lives — it would be very odd if he were ! We don't hear 
what the Emperor of Austria says to all this. Indeed, 
we only get scraps of English news from the American 
papers." 

" La Hogue" now returned home ; but Parry, " anx- 
ious" as he was " to visit once more the shores of old 
England," determined to remain on the North Amer- 
ican station, as the most likely means of obtaining his 
long-desired step. He was, consequently, appointed 
to the " Maidstone," (3G.) The Peace of Ghent, the 
news of which arrived early in January, 1815, proved, 
as he had anticipated, a still further obstacle to the 
attainment of his wishes, and the letters written by him 
at this time show, painfully, the sickening effects of 
" hope deferred." Unwilling to quit his present sta- 
tion, and so lose the "poor, and indeed almost hope- 
less, chance of promotion," he successively joined the 
"Ardent," (64,) " Carron," (20,) and " Niger," (38.) In 
November, 1815, he writes : 

" I am almost tired of shifting myself and my baggage 
so often. However, it can not be helped, and we ought 
to endeavor to feel contented, when we are doing the 
best we can. You see, my dearest parents, that I am 
still acting on that principle, to which I trust I have 
hitherto adhered, namely, the doing what, under exist- 
ing circumstances, seems to me to be most right. . . . 
I have acted on this fixed principle through all my changes 
and exchanges." 

The same conscientious attention to present duty 
appears in a letter, written at this time, on the subject 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 51 

of punctuality, which formed so marked a feature of 
his character throughout life : 

" I find I am more punctual to my leave than any body 
else thinks necessary. This unpunctuality may be of 
serious consequence if any thing should happen ; and, 
though a captain should wink at it, it is not he, but I, 
who should suffer from it ; besides, it is a bad habit, and 
a person who stays a week beyond his leave now will, 
the next time, probably stay ten days, and so on." 

His health, in the early part of his life, was excel- 
lent. "As a lieutenant," he has said, " I used to won- 
der what a headache meant !" Once, however, during 
this period, while on his way from Bermudas to Hali- 
fax, in the Menai, Captain Pell, (now Sir "Watkin O. 
Pell, Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital,) he was 
seized with a severe attack of inflammation. The 
kindness of Captain Pell, who immediately placed his 
own cabin at the disposal of the invalid, left a deep 
impression on his mind, and he always spoke most 
warmly of the attentions he received from this officer. 
Upon landing, he obtained three months' sick leave, 
the first part of which was passed at the hospital. A1 
Halifax he made many friends, and received so much 
kindness that he declared, when the time came for hin? 
to join his ship, that it was like " leaving home.' 
With the Admiral's secretary, Charles Martyr, Esq. r 
he, at this time, formed a tie of the closest intimacy 
"I know not," he says, "a young man in the world, 
for whom I have such high esteem and respect. Ji 
you knew him for twenty years, I will answer for yor-r 
discovering in him, every day, something new to ad- 



52 MEMOIRS OF 

mire.' The friendship thus formed continued after 
their return to England, and remained unbroken until 
Mr. Martyr's death, which occurred some years later. 
The sorrow which Parry felt at the loss of this valued 
friend, proved, as will be seen, the means of marking 
the advance and development of his own religious 
principles. 

Early in 1817, he was recalled to England, in con- 
sequence of a severe family affliction. His father had, 
in the preceding October, been seized with a paralytic 
attack, which deprived him of the use of his right 
side, and reduced him, for the remaining six years of 
his life, to a state of great suffering and helplessness. 
His father's illness, and his own despair of promotion, 
combined to render this the gloomiest period of our 
sailor's life ; but, when the cloud which overhung his 
fortunes seemed most impenetrable, an opening unex- 
pectedly occurred, which threw a gleam of encourage- 
ment over his darkened professional prospects, and 
finally proved the forerunner of success and renown. 

At the conclusion of the war, and, consequently, of 
active service on a foreign station, Parry, while yet on 
the coast of America, had been anxious for employ- 
ment in some expedition for the purpose of discovery. 
A project of exploring the river Congo, in Africa, 
being in contemplation, he volunteered for this service, 
but, owing to his detention at Bermudas, was prevent- 
ed from joining it in time. The travels of Clapperton 
had interested him much, and his attention continued 
to be occupied with the subject of African discovery. 

About the close of the year 1817, in which he re- 
turned to England, he wrote to a friend on this sub- 
ject. The letter was written, but not posted, when his 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 53 

eye fell on a paragraph in the newspaper relative to an 
expedition about to be fitted out to the Northern 
Eegions. He seized his pen, and added to his letter, 
by way of postscript, that, as far as he was concerned, 
" Hot or cold was all one to him, Africa or the Pole." 
The friend to whom the letter was addressed, showed 
it to Mr. Barrow, Secretary of the Admiralty, and the 
well-known patron of Arctic discovery. In a few days, 
Parry, still a lieutenant, was appointed to the com- 
mand of the " Alexander" discovery ship, under the 
orders of Commander John Ross in the "Isabella," 
u for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and ascer- 
taining the probabilities of a North-West Passage to 
the Pacific." 



54 MEMOIRS Off 



CHAPTEE III. 

Brief Sketch of Arctic Discovery previously to ]818 — Life in the Polar 
Regions. 

One day, early in the month, of June, 1576, when 
Greenwich was a royal residence, three small ships lay 
moored in the river, opposite the palace. A queen of 
England stood at one of the windows, waving her 
hand, in token of farewell, to an officer standing upon 
the deck of the larger vessel. Nearly three hundred 
years afterwards, when another queen sat on the throne 
of Elizabeth, a naval officer, travelling in all haste 
from the north of our island, arrived at daybreak in 
London, and announced to the world, that the North- 
West Passage had been discovered. These three cen- 
turies, which elapsed between . the departure of Sir 
Martin Probisher from Greenwich, and the arrival of 
Lieutenant S. G. Cressweirin London in 1853, with 
despatches from Captain M'Clure, form an interesting 
episode in history, being the time occupied in the solu- 
tion of that problem, which Probisher pronounced to 
be, in his day, " the only great thing left undone in the 
world." 

The discovery of the continent of America, at the 
close of the fifteenth century, opened out a wide field 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 55 

for nautical enterprise. The flourishing trade of Spain 
and Portugal in the Indian Seas, stimulated the mer- 
chants of England to seek a shorter passage thither 
than that by the Cape of Good Hope. Hence a series 
of expeditions, at greater or less intervals, for the dis- 
covery of a "North- West Passage to Oathaia and 
lands Orientall." Even before the reign of Elizabeth, 
some attempts had been made towards this object. In 
the time of Henry VII., Sebastian Cabot, then only 
twenty -three years of age, considering it "a thing 
more divine than human, to sail by the west into the 
east, where spices do growe, felt in his heart a great 
flame of desire to attempt some notable thing."* In 
those days, however, so little was known of the conti- 
nent of America, which lay as a great barrier between 
the shores of England and the East-Indies, that Cabot, 
after sailing " as far as the 56th degree under our 
pole," and "finding, to his great displeasure, that the 
land still continued " to the north, retraced his steps to 
the southward, as far as Florida, still hoping to come 
icross some opening, which might suit his purpose. 
It is mentioned, in some accounts, that his progress to 
the northward was stopped by "such coulde and 
heapes of yse," that he durst pass no further ; also, 
that he found "the days very long, and, in a manner, 
without nyghte." On his return to England, Cabot 
vas prevented from prosecuting his discoveries by the 
rebellion of Perkin Warbeck, and the war with Scot- 
and. The impulse, however, given by his efforts to 
Atretic research, stirred up others to imitate his ex- 
ample. Portugal was, at this time, one of the great 

* Shillinglaw. Narrative of Arctic Discovery. 



56 MEMOIRS OF 

naval powers of Europe, and the countrymen of Yasco 
cli Grama were not likely to leave to England the sole 
enjoyment of the fruits of this new field of enterprise. 
Accordingly, Gaspar de Cortereal,- a Portuguese of 
high rank, sailed from Lisbon in 1500, and returned 
to that port the next year, having made his way as far 
as the coast of Labrador, and bringing back with him 
several of the natives, as trophies of those hitherto 
unknown regions. He sailed again the next year to 
follow up his discoveries, but was never heard of more. 
His brother Michael went in search of him, but he, too, 
never returned. A third brother offered to follow, but 
the King Emmanuel refused to permit him to tempt a 
similar fate,* and the loss of the two Cortereals will 
ever remain one of the impenetrable mysteries of 
Arctic story, a foretaste of that more prolonged tragedy 
which has been witnessed by our own generation. 

Frobisher was the first Englishman who sailed in 
command of an expedition for the discovery of a 
North-West Passage, Cabot being of Yenetian extrac- 
tion, though his nautical fame was gained under the 
English flag. The first voyage of the former was 
signalized by the discovery of the strait, which bears 
his name, but its more immediate results were singular. 
Among the curiosities brought home by him was a 
piece of black stone, in appearance much like ordinary 
sea coal. This, on being thrown into the fire, and 
''quenched with vinegar," sparkled like gold. The 
news soon spread, like wildfire, that the "New Coun- 
trie" was to prove a mine of wealth, and two expedi- 
tions were successively fitted out by Frobisher, for the 

* Shilllnglaw. Narrative of Arctic Discovery. 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 57 

purpose of obtaining ore; the last was on a large 
scale, embracing a scheme of settlement, which, how- 
ever, ended in nothing. The supposed precious metal 
seems to have been, in reality, nothing more than 
particles of micaceous sand, or, according to another 
conjecture, the glistening mineral known as Labrador 
spar. 

The bursting of this glittering bubble left the minda 
of our countrymen, once more, open to the considera- 
tion of the less visionary object of Arctic exploration. 
Repeated failures only served to kindle afresh the 
" flame of desire" to accomplish the long-sought pas- 
sage between the two great oceans. In the two cen- 
turies, which succeeded Frobisher's last voyage, many 
expeditions were fitted out at the public expense, and 
many more at the cost of private individuals, who 
formed themselves 'into companies for this purpose.* 
Among the discoveries to which these gave rise, those 
of Davis, Hudson, and Baffin, are most worthy of 
mention. The latter was the first to circumnavigate 
the extensive bay, or rather sea, which bears his name, 
and, to the accuracy of his observations, testimony has 
been repeatedly borne by later navigators. To him 
we owe the discovery of Smith's Sound, which, there 
is now every reason to believe, is the passage separat- 
ing Greenland from the opposite coast, thereby proving 
the truth of Burleigh's conjecture, that " Groynelande 

* The first company of merchants ever incorporated by Charter m 
England is said to be one formed in 1553. Their capital was only 
GO 00?., with which three ships were fitted out under the command of 
Sir Hugh Willoughby, who, with his whole ship's company, was frozen 
to death off the coast of Lapland, in attempting to force a north-east 
passage to India. — Quart. Rev. viii. p. 125. 
3* 



58 MEMOIRS OF 

is an islande." It was Baffin, too, who laid down in 
oar charts the name of Sir James Lancaster's Sound, 
the entrance of which remained barred to EuropeaD 
enterprise for two centuries, until its icy gates opened 
to admit the "Hecla" and " Griper" under Lieut. 
Parry. 

In all the northern expeditions of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries, England held far the most con- 
spicuous place. At times, however, her example 
roused the emulation of other countries to enter the 
lists of Arctic discovery. -As early as the reign of 
Francis I., a French squadron, under Cartier, visited 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and gave the first impulse 
to the colonization of Canada. The Dutch, in 1594, 
dispatched three successive expeditions, under the ill- 
fated Barentz, along the northern shores of Russia, 
penetrating as far as Nova Zembla*. The Danes, also, 
a nation of brave seamen, in the seventeenth century, 
stimulated by the successes of Hudson and Baffin, sent 
out several expeditions in the same direction ; all of 
which resulted in disaster and disappointment. Behr- 
ing, who has given his name to the strait which di- 
vides the two great continents of Asia and America, 
was also a Dane by birth ; but his discoveries were 
made under the auspices of Russia, and owe their 
origin to the energetic mind of Peter the Great. The 
Empress Catharine, in sending out the expedition 
under his command, was only following out the wishes 
of her imperial husband, who, on his death-bed, had 
drawn up instructions for the purpose.* Behring, like 
Barentz, fell a victim to disease, in the midst of the 

* Shillinglaw, p. 142. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 59 

scene of all his hopes and disappointments, and his 
crew returned with difficulty to their native country. 

We now come to the commencement of the present 
century ; and here we may pause for a moment to see 
what had been done towards the discovery of the 
North-West Passage. The existence of a polar sea 
could not be doubted; for Hearne and Mackenzie* 
had viewed it from its southern shore at the mouths of 
the Coppermine and Mackenzie rivers. The western 
entrance of this sea had been opened by Behring ; and, 
towards the close of the last century, Captain Cook 
crossed its threshold, and penetrated as far as Icy Cape. 
The eastern door was entirely closed and unknown. 
Between the west shore of Baffin's Bay and Icy Cape, 
the chart presented a blank, broken only by the head- 
lands, which marked the estuaries of the two great 
rivers above named. 

With the nineteenth century, a new era dawned on 
Arctic history. Within a space of thirty-five years, 
from 1818 to 1853, successive expeditions left our 
shores, each resulting in varied success, and the contri- 
bution of much valuable scientific information ; until, 
at length, the crew of M'Clure's ship 'passed homeward 
through Lancaster Sound, having entered the Polar 
Sea from the western side. 

To the late Sir John Barrow, Secretary of the Admi- 
ralty, is owing the practical revival of this interesting 
question in the minds of our countrymen. He strongly 
urged the necessity of accomplishing that discovery to 
which our old navigators had led the way ; and of not 
allowing others, especially Eussia, "a naval power of 

* In 1772 and 1789. 



60 MEMOIRS OF 

but yesterday," to snatch from Britain the honor of 
solving this great problem. But the strongest argu- 
ment urged was the increased probability of success, 
arising from the disruption of the vast fields of ice, 
which, for more than four centuries, had blockaded 
the shores of Old Greenland. This fact was fully at- 
tested by the reports of whalers and others, who, while 
they found the higher latitudes comparatively free 
from obstruction, met with icebergs and islands of 
packed ice far to the southward of their original fast- 
nesses. 

In consequence of these considerations a plan was 
drawn up by Sir John, then Mr. Barrow, which result- 
ed in orders being issued by the Admiralty, for the 
preparation of four ships, to be appropriated to the ser- 
vice in question — two, for the search of a passage from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific ; and two, to proceed from 
the Sea of Spitzbergen toward the North Pole. 

Having thus briefly traced the history of former ex- 
peditions for the discovery of a North-West Passage, it 
may be well to consider the peculiar characteristics of 
the service on which the crews of these ships were em- 
ployed. 

It is a strange life 6n which the seaman enters, when 
once his vessel has made the ice of the Northern Seas. 
Till that moment, the dangers he has encountered have 
been such as his nautical experience has taught him to 
avoid or meet; but, the ice once around him, all is 
changed. At this critical moment, when he feels that 
the perils of an almost untried and uncertain naviga- 
tion call for every aid that his skill can suggest, he is, 
gradually, deprived of that friendly help, which he has 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 61 

always regarded as his mainstay in the hour of need. 
Each day, as he approaches nearer to the magnetic 
pole of the earth, the compass becomes more sluggish, 
until, at length, it is " thrown .aside as useless lum- 
ber."* The wind rises to a gale, and, instead of the 
rocks and shoals, which, on other seas, offer, if we may 
so say, only a passive resistance to the sailor's course, 
here loose frozen masses dash against the vessel's side, 
with a violence which no skill or chart can avoid. 
"Well might the British mariner, two centuries ago, be 
affrighted by the " very loathsome noise "f so new to 
his ears, when an Arctic navigator of our own days 
describes it as such, that " the orders of the officers and 
men could scarcely be heard,":]: as they toiled through 
the. heavily-laden breakers. 

Strange too and magnificent, in approaching the 
portals of the Northern Ocean, must be the first sight 
of the huge floating mountains of ice, past which the 
vessel glides — their upper snow-capped surface, of ala- 
baster white, sparkling in the sun, and contrasting 
with the beautiful azure of the base, against which the 
surf is dashing.§ These giants of the North are, at 
once, the friend and foe of the adventurous navigator. 
Now he courts their proximity, making fast to them 
for security, or slowly hauling past their huge sides ; 
while, at other times, he steers wide of the glistening 
masses, fearing lest, like. the fabled rocks of Grecian 

* Parry's Voyages. 

f Waymouth's Voyage in 1602. Shillinglavsr, p. 76. 
\ The late Admiral Beechey's Narrative of the voyage of the " Doro- 
thea" and " Trent," in 1818. 

§ See account of Parry, Scoresby, and others. 



62 MEMOIRS OF 

story, the j should meet and crush his frail bark, or, 
perchance, lose their balance, and fall upon him. In 
this latter case, it is but short warning that is given. 
The sound of a voice, the firing of a gun, or a blow 
with a boat-hook, is often enough to detach the loosened 
fragments, and endanger the equilibrium of the whole. 
Down into the sea, with a noise as of thunder, falls the 
mountain, for a moment disappearing from view ; then, 
suddenly, in the midst of a cloud of foam, shooting up 
again into the air. For a while it rocks to and fro, as 
if uncertain of its new position ; into which, at last, it 
gradually subsides, while streams of water pour from 
its surface, glistening with emerald hues in the rays of 
the sun.* 

Yarious and fantastic are the forms assumed by these 
mountains of ice, to deceive or amuse the sailor. At 
whiles, the cry of " a sail " startles him, and, half doubt- 
ing, half hopeful, he prepares his packet of home let- 
ters, all to no purpose. Again, his fancy spreads be- 
fore him, gorgeous in tints of gold and emerald, a pal- 
ace not unworthy of fairyland, with crystal colonnades, 
and diamond-studded gates — or, once more, it is a huge 
pavilion that meets his eye, from whose entrance he al- 
most expects some uncouth form to issue, to do the 
honors of the North, and welcome the strangers to his 
frozen abode.f 

•In these regions all is rude and colossal. The huge 
ice mountain, itself hundreds of feet in height, is but a 
small fragment of a vast glacier on the shore, extend- 
ing often for two or three miles inland. The separa- 

* Journal d'un Voyage aux Mers Polaires, par J. R. Bellot. 
\ Ibid. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 63 

tion of the berg from its parent field has been described 
by an eye-witness of the avalanche. 

" This occurred on a remarkably fine day, when the 
stillness of the bay was first interrupted by the noise 
of the falling body. We had approached one of these 
stupendous walls of ice, and were, endeavoring to search 
into the innermost recesses of a deep cavern near the 
foot of the glacier, when we heard a report, as of a can- 
non, and, turning to the quarter from whence it pro- 
ceeded, we perceived an immense piece of the front of 
the berg sliding down from the height of 200 feet, at 
least, into the sea, and dispersing the water in every 
direction, accompanied by a loud grinding noise, fol- 
lowed by a quantity of water, which, being previously 
lodged in fissures, now made its escape in numberless 
small cataracts over the front of the glacier."* 

All in keeping too with the scene are the wonders 
of animated nature. Here, spouting the water from 
his nostrils, a whale lies basking on the surface of the 
sea, until, alarmed by the unwonted intrusion on his 
solitude, he suddenly dives head foremost, lashing the 
water into foam with his broad-forked tail. There, the 
scene will be diversified by a walrus, formidable with 
its huge tusks and ponderous bulk, reclining leisurely 
on the brink of the ice, or moving sedately about in 
one of the pools of water. A little farther on, a seal 
is lying in wait at the edge of a hole, watching his op- 
portunity to dive after a fish ; while above, on a ledge 
of the berg, or rock, a great white bear, himself on the 
look-out for the seal, alarmed by the dip of oars, or the 
strange sound of human voices, plunges head foremost 

* Beechey's Narrative. 



64 MEMOIRS OF 

irto the sea, over a precipice many feet in height. 
Should his visitors be at leisure for a chase, he is not 
let off thus easily ; and the excitement of a bear-hunt 
is usually too attractive for the opportunity to be al- 
lowed to slip. 

The eye of the mariner is now directed upwards, and 
here Nature seems, in a manner, to change her course, 
and work signs and wonders in the heaven over head. 
Now, the sun appears no longer circular, but of an 
oval form — or, perhaps, there is no longer one sun in 
the sky, but two suns mock his wondering gaze ; and, 
in like manner, at night, two moons shed their silvery 
beams on the glistening icebergs, past which the vessel 
glides in her phantom-like course.* Again, the whole 
of one quarter of the heavens is illuminated with golden 
rays, dimming the radiance of moon and stars, while 
nickering shafts of light shoot swiftly upwards to the 
zenith. The ignorant native of these frozen shores, 
when . he sees these glittering portents, cries aloud to 
his comrades, that " the spirits of the air are rushing 
by." The wiser British seaman gazes in scarce less 
wonder at the sight, but he knows that he is nigh the 
"birth-place of the Aurora Borealis."f 

Onward speeds the ship — but now the ice gathers 
closer, and her situation becomes, each hour, more and 
more perilous. Once caught in the "pack," she is en- 
tirely at its mercy. Instances have been known, where 
a vessel has drifted, helplessly and hopelessly, for 
scores, nay, hundreds of miles, without possibility of 

* Parry's Voyages, Bellot's Journal, etc. 
f Quarterly Review, xviii. p. 492. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 65 

extrication.* At times, she is violently heaved up, 
high and dry, above the surface of the ice, and then 
again dashed down into the hollows, her timbers groan- 
ing, and her masts quivering with the shock. The 
skill of the seaman is of no avail. Admiral Beechey 
relates that, in one case, " the motion of the ship was 
so great, that the ship's bell, which, in the heaviest 
gale of wind, had never struck of itself, now tolled so 
continually, that it was ordered to be muffled, for the 
purpose of escaping the unpleasant associations it was 
calculated to excite." Often when the perilous crisis 
seems farthest off, it is, in reality, most imminent. On 
the 21st August, 1853, two ships, a steamer and a 
transport, were drifting, in closely -packed ice, at the 
entrance of Wellington Channel. There was scarcely 
any wind, and none dreamed of danger close at hand. 
All at once, the watch on board the transport were 
alarmed, by the sudden and unaccountable closing in 
of the ice around them. There was not even time to 
give notice to the sleepers in the hammocks below, 
when they were awakened by the fearful sound of the 
ice crashing in at the bows. In less than fifteen min- 
utes from the first alarm, the " Breadalbane " was 
crushed, and engulfed in the heaving ice, her crew hav- 
ing only just time to escape with their lives.f The 

* The American searching expedition under Lieut, de Haven, in 
1851, was carried, in this way, from the mouth of Wellington Channel, 
through Lancaster Sound, some way down Baffin's Bay. The "Reso- 
lute," abandoned in 1853, a little to the south-east of Melville Island, 
was afterward found in Davis Straits, having drifted a distance of about 
1200 miles. Sir James Clarke Ross, in 1849, drifted, in the pack-ice, 
from Leopold Island to Pond's Bay, about 300 miles. 

f Sir Edward Belcher's Dispatches, 1853. 



66 MEMOIES OF 

spectators of the catastrophe, from the deck of trie 
" Phoenix," scarcely knew that any thing unusual had 
occurred, when the transport sank before their eyes, 
her pendant fluttering in the breeze, as she vanished 
from their view. 

But, for the present, let us suppose these dangers to 
have been avoided, and that the long Arctic winter is 
now fast approaching. As the brief summer draws to 
a close, the vessel, still slowly advancing through the 
intervals of open water, is gradually arrested in her 
course by the rapid formation of the "young ice" on 
the surface. Often, with all sails set, and a fair breeze 
astern, she remains motionless, reminding the baffled 
crew of Grulliver, helpless in the toils of his Lilliputian 
antagonists.* The warning is not slighted, and a con- 
venient spot is selected for winter quarters. The union 
jack is hoisted on shore, and the ship is, in a few 
hours, firmly frozen in, her topmasts struck, and the 
upper deck securely housed over, with the prospect of 
well nigh three quarters of a year of helpless durance 
in her icy fetters. Shorter, and still shorter, grows 
the scanty daylight. Magnificent hues of gold, purple, 
and crimson, in the clear sky, attend the rising and 
setting of the slowly departing sun,f as though to com- 
pensate for the long period- of darkness now so near at 
hand. At length, from the masthead, his orb is seen 
to set for the last time. The dreary, sunless night of 
three months has begun. Day after day, the cracking 
timbers of the imprisoned vessel attest the gradual 
descent of the mercury. Before many days the mer- 
cury itself is frozen in the tube, the beer refuses to fer- 

* Parry's Voyages. f lb. 



SIK W. E. PARRY. 67 

ment, and the spirits and vinegar are congealed into a 
solid mass in the cask.* 

Beyond the shelter of the vessel, there is little to 
cheer the already sufficiently depressed spirits. In 
calm weather, it is possible to stir abroad without any 
serious inconvenience. But there is not much to tempt 
one outside. With the exception of a few gaunt 
wolves, whose hungry howl is constantly heard near 
the ships, and the little Arctic fox, in his winter coat 
of snowy white, the animals, which might have lured 
the hunter to the chase, have lefb the bleak inhospi- 
table coast for a more genial southern region. To sea- 
ward, all that meets the wearied eye is one monotonous 
surface of ice, unbroken, save by a few " hummocks " 
thrown up, here and there, above the general level — 
while the shore presents one waste of dazzling snow. 
When the snowdrift is stirred by the wind, exposure, 
as in the " tourmente " of the Alps, becomes almost 
certain death. If the imprudent straggler at length 
succeeds in making his way back, his looks are wild, 
his words indistinct and rambling, like those of a 
drunken man, and he is fortunate, if he escape with the 
loss of his frost-bitten fingers, stiffened to the shape of 
the musket stock, or staff, which he carries in his 
hand.* For the use of those who venture to a distance 
from the ship, finger-posts are planted on neighboring 
heights, pointing towards the winter quarters. But the 
strange refracting power of the atmosphere is a con- 
stant source of deception. To guide his steps in the 
waste, the traveller singles out with his eye what he 
conceives to be a lofty rock, at some distance, but, after 

* Parry's Voyages. 



68 MEMOIRS OP 

a few paces, stumbles over a small stone in his path. 
A bear, to all appearance is descried, watching the ship 
with hungry eyes from the top of a cliff. A party is 
hastily formed, who arm themselves with guns and 
pikes, and sally forth for the chase, dividing into two 
bands to cut off Bruin's retreat. Meanwhile the ani- 
mal decamps, and all marvel at the unwonted agility 
of the unwieldy monster. But the mystery is soon 
solved. A sailor pursues, and, in a few minutes, re- 
turns, holding in his hand a small Arctic fox, the real 
object of all these alarming preparations.* 

But even a Polar winter has, lat last, an end. A 
seaman climbs a hill, and reports that he has actually 
seen the sun, whose beams, ere many days, once more 
fall on the housings of the imprisoned ship. His orb, 
is yet, in reality, below the horizon, and his first ap- 
pearance, is owing to refraction, but it is enough — the 
long night is over, and the hearts of all are gladdened. 
It is long before his rays gain any power, but, when 
this is once the case, the scene changes rapidly. The 
snow vanishes from the ground, giving place to beds of 
the scarlet poppy, and the purple saxifrage, while the 
constant and cheerful note of the snow-bunting, the 
" redbreast of the North," resounding on all sides, re- 
minds his listeners of a brighter country, the fields and 
hedge-rows of home. ISTow the reindeer return to their 
haunts, and the fox is found with his white winter-fur 
already speckled with gray. Herds of musk-oxen frolic, 
with awkward gambols, in the midst of luxuriant 
mossy pastures, which almost present the appearance 

* Bellot's Journal. 



SIE W. E. PAEEY. 09 

of a pleasant English meadow.* On land, Nature has 
already burst her chains, but the ice in the harbor of 
refuge is still many feet thick. The thaw, however, is 
telling each hour, and the loud reports of the parting 
masses, every now and then, announce its steady pro- 
gress. The brief summer is already half over, ere the 
saw and blasting cylinder have done their work ; but, 
at length, the ship glides from her prison, at first slowly 
and half doubtfully, as though cramped by long con- 
finement, and then, as the channel widens, more confi- 
dently. Her crew take a last look, scarcely a regretful 
one, at the well-known cliffs marking the boundaries of 
their captivity. Three cheers for Old England, and 
three more for Icy Cape, or Lancaster Sound, and they 
are, once more, on their way, and all the hopes and 
fears of Arctic navigation have again sprung into life. 
Such is a polar winter, and such, in its main features, 
is life within the Arctic circle. 

* Parry's Voyages, Beliefs Journal, etc. 



70 MEAIOIKS OF 



CHAPTER IV. 

The " Alexander " fitted out at Deptford — Lieut. Franklin — Sailing of 
the Expedition under Ross — Baffin's Bay — Lancaster Sound and 
Croker Mountains — Return to England — Parry apointed to the com- 
mand of a new Expedition. 

Of the two expeditions, fitted out in the year 1818, 
for the purpose of Arctic discovery, that, consisting of 
the " Isabella " and " Alexander," with which Parry 
was connected, was intended, as we have seen in the 
preceding chapter, to explore Baffin's Bay, and to seek 
an opening in the same quarter, where former explorers 
had failed ; while the "Dorothea" and "Trent," undei 
Captain Buchan, were to take the bolder course of 
steering for Behring's Straits across the North Pole it- 
self. 

The second in command, of this latter expedition 
was Lieut. Franklin, Parry's acquaintance with whom 
dates from this period, when both were engaged in fit- 
ting out their respective vessels at Deptford. Franklin, 
in age four years his senior, had earned considerable 
distinction in the late war, and both were now about 
to make their entry on the stage of Arctic enterprise, 
with which their names were to be forever associated. 
The acquaintance, thus commenced, afterwards ripened 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 71 

into the "imbroken friendship of two kindred natures, 
for nearly forty years. "When the fate of the * ' Erebus " 
was yet uncertain, none felt more keenly than Sir 
Edward Parry the torturing anxieties of prolonged sus- 
pense. To use his own words, his lost friend was in 
"his sleeping as well as his waking thoughts," and, 
among his own most treasured memorials, was found 
one paper, with the touching indorsement : " Dear Frank- 
lin's last letter to me, July 10th, 1845." He thus re- 
cords his first impression of his friend's character : 
"With Lieut. Franklin I have had a good deal of con- 
versation, and I think him the most clever man of our 
cloth, as far as I can yet judge, with whom I have con- 
versed for some time." 

Lieut. Parry, now for the first time in command of 
a vessel, set himself diligently to the task of gaining 
information upon subjects more immediately connected 
with the peculiar service to which he had been chosen. 
In this he was aided by the kindness of many influ- 
ential friends. An introduction to Sir Joseph Banks 
was followed by an invitation to make free use of his 
library, a liberty of which the young officer gratefully 
availed himself. " Sir Joseph's invitations," he wrote, 
" are not like those of fashionable life, but are given 
from a real desire to do every thing which can in the 
smallest degree, tend to the advancement of every 
branch of science." 

Of the continued kindness of his warm friend and 
patron, the Secretary of the Admiralty, he also writes : 

" I called upon Mr. Barrow, who immediately sent for 
me, and shook hands like a twenty years' acquaintance, 



72 MEMOIRS OF 

and conversed with me, for half an hour, upon the North- 
West Passage, islands of ice, bears, Baffins, Hudsons, etc. 
I mentioned to him having seen, while coming from 
America last April, islands of ice in a low latitude, at 
which he caught, as an additional confirmation of the re- 
ported breaking up of that body to the northward, and 
desired me to give him a full account of the situation in 
which I saw them." 

His time was now spent chiefly at Deptford, where 
no pains were spared in rendering the ships as strong 
as wood and iron could make them, for encountering 
the pressure of the ice, and in providing for the comfort 
of officers and men. 

" Every body," he writes, " is desirous to anticipate our 
wishes in this respect, from the highest to the lowest that 

are employed in our equipment I do not mind 

telling you that the ' Alexander ' has obtained, among 
the officers, the name of the ' Yacht,' from the very 
superior accommodations we have to those of the other 
ships. Indeed, I never saw any thing more snug and 
comfortable ; but this circumstance should not be men- 
tioned, as people might fancy I gave myself the credit of 
it, whereas the truth is, that, during the progress of our 
equipment, the officers of the dockyard, the principal of 
whom I knew before, have attended to my wishes in 
every thing, an advantage the others could not possibly 
have."* 

In the midst of these active preparations, he re- 
ceived tidings of the death of his beloved sister, Lady 

* The " Alexander " was fitted out in the Dockyard, and the other 

ships in Merchant Docks. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 13 

Eardley Wilmot. The tidings affected him deeply, 
but he did not suffer these feelings to interfere with a 
vigorous attention to his more immediate duties, as 
will be seen from the following : 

"Deptford, March, 1818. 

" My Dearest Parents: If it were not that I knew you 
would expect a letter from me to-morrow, I should have 
been tempted to tear up that which I dispatched to-day, 
and which was, literally, written chiefly upon a cask, 
while our men were at dinner. After the most busy day 
that I think I ever passed in my life, how happy am I to 
be able to sit down quietly in my lodgings, to attempt to 
answer the many anxious inquiries you have lately made 
respecting our expedition ! I consider it to be our busi- 
ness to collect materials, and to preserve those materials 
in as perfect a state as possible, for the examination of 
scientific men when we return ; noting down the ' habi- 
tat,' a precaution I remember my dear father to have 
given me some years ago. I shall let nothing escape me 
that comes within my reach, and I hope to be able to pro- 
duce, on our return, a tolerable collection for the learned 
to work upon. I will take care to procure every thing 
mineral, or fossil, that I meet with. My hammer-stick, 
which has been much admired, is hanging up in my cabin, 
and will, I hope, be often brought into use during the 
summer. Indeed, I shall never go on shore without it, 
for it will be useful as a weapon, as well as in the other 
way. 

" The observations upon the magnet will form one of 
the most interesting objects of the expedition. A vari- 
ety of compasses are prepared for us, and great expect- 
ations are formed of the results we are likely to obtain 
in high northern latitudes. The connection observed, in 
4 



74 MEMOIES OF 

many instances, between magnetism and electricity, and 
between these and the Aurora Borealis, is very curious, 
and it is expected, that the observations we shall be en- 
abled to make, may throw considerable light upon it. 
There are great speculations on foot, as to what effect 
may be anticipated npon our compasses, when we ap- 
proach the Magnetic Pole. 

" You will easily believe how deeply I felt the conclud- 
ing page of my dearest father's letter. Whether it shall 
please God, that I am ever, in this world, to have the 
happiness of seeing you again, is at the disposal of Him, 
who ' doeth all things well.' " 

The interest, excited in the public mind by the' con- 
templated expedition, had attracted large crowds of 
visitors to Deptford, and the decks were thronged with 
sight-seers from morning till night. When the ships 
dropped down to Woolwich, he says: "We have the 
'Alexander' to ourselves for the first time since she 
was put into commission." 

On the first Sunday of the voyage, the : 'Alexan- 
der's " ship's company were mustered, in the gun-room, 
for divine service, a duty never omitted, except in 
cases of urgent necessity. 

" Seamen," he writes, " with all their imperfections on 
their heads, are certainly a very attentive congregation. 
It may be said, in opposition to this, that, in a man-of-war, 
they are afraid to be otherwise ; but the 'Alexander' is 
not yet enough a man-of-war to produce attention by any 
such means ; and I never saw a more orderly congrega- 
tion than that to which I read prayers to-day. Nothing 
could be more satisfactory and creditable than the atten- 
tion of my men. It really was delightful, and, you may 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 75 

depend upon it, that nothing but very bad weather shall 
prevent my constantly attending to it. If it edifies one 
man only of my crew, it can not be said to be of no avail, 
but I am sure it will do more. At all events, I am doing 
a duty. Let us trust with implicit confidence in that 
God, whose eye is everywhere, and whose mercy and be- 
neficence are equally conspicuous, whether we traverse 
the frozen regions of the north, or bask in the sunshine 
of our native plains." 

On the 3d of May, the shores of Shetland were left 
behind, and, on the 26th, they rounded Cape Farewell, 
the southernmost point of Greenland, passing, how- 
ever, at a considerable distance to the southward of it. 
The sailing qualities of the two vessels, which had ap- 
peared nearly the same on the passage from the ISTore 
to Lerwick, were now proved to be very unequal. 
The sluggishness of the "Alexander" was a continual 
source of regret to Parry, not merely from his natural 
eagerness to press onward towards the field of disco- 
very, but because his ship was unable, like her consort, 
to spare the time for heaving to, occasionally, for the 
purpose of obtaining soundings, and making observa- 
tions on the direction of currents, etc. 

In a polar voyage, the sight of the first iceberg is an 
event of some interest, and, on the same day that they 
rounded Cape Farewell, they passed a berg at the dis- 
tance of a few miles. The lively imagination of the 
"Isabella's" crew traced, in its fantastic peaks, some 
resemblance to the Lion and the Unicorn of the Eoyal 
arms, which was, at once, interpreted as an omen of 
good luck. A few days later, the ice of Davis' Strait 
was fairly entered, and the ships, at times, completely 



76 MEMOIRS OF 

stopped. " The masses, or lumps of ice," Parry writes, 
" sometimes resemble the huge piles of stone at Stone- 
henge, two upright pieces supporting a third placed 
horizontally upon them." 

Whenever advance was rendered impossible by the 
state of the ice, the delay was turned to account, for 
the purpose of making observations. The usual prac- 
tice was to make the ships fast to one of the many ice- 
bergs in the neighborhood, which was then converted 
into a site for the temporary observatory. The strange 
character of the scene, which met the eye at these times, 
was as though one had entered on a new world. 

" The magnificence of the view is far beyond any de- 
scription I can give of it. One half of the horizon, that 
to the eastward, was occupied by the bleak hills of Green- 
land, and some of its islands not more than two miles 
from us. Within a few miles all round us, the water was 
clear ; but the whole of the western horizon, from land 
round to land, was covered with innumerable masses of 
ice, packed close together. Here and there, a tremen- 
dous berg appeared, each assuming some peculiar fantas- 
tic shape. If the scene around were grand, that upon 
the iceberg was not less interesting. In one part, was to 
be seen a group attentively employed in making the re- 
quisite observations ; in another, a party of sportsmen, 
firing at the numerous loons, mallemukes, kittewakes, 
etc. Below, were the boats taking ice on board for wa- 
ter ; here and there, a sailor or two amusing themselves in 
sliding down from the top of the ice to the valley below. 
The whole scene was extremely interesting and novel. 
We were employed in executing some of the most im- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 77 

portant objects of our mission, and this, alone, would 
have made it delightful."* 

On one occasion, while waiting for the sun to break 
through the overhanging veil of mist, the interval was 
employed by the officers in a mock fight with snow-balls. 

" Some who had gained the summit of the berg, on 
which they could only just manage to sit, as upon a sad- 
dle, looking down an almost perpendicular cliff, perhaps 
90 or 100 feet high, into the sea, on the opposite side to 
that which they had mounted, thought proper to pelt 
with snow those who had not been so bold, or so quick in 
ascending. A sharp conflict ensued, the assailants re- 
turning the fire, as they continued to mount, till, at 
length, the summit was gained by all, and a truce pro- 
claimed by both parties. These are trifling incidents, 
and may, perhaps, be considered by some as unworthy a 
place in a journal of this kind ; but, to one who witnessed 
the scene, and reflected on it, on the spot, it could not 
but induce some pleasing considerations. To see the 
officers of both ships joining, with the utmost good hu- 
mor, in such amusements, was a pleasing proof of the 
good understanding that existed between us, and the 
cheerfulness that animated all ; and one could not help 
going a step farther, to consider that the same unanimity 
which prevailed among us, in partaking of that relax- 
ation which our duty allowed us, might also be expected 
to extend itself to the most hearty cooperation, when- 
ever those difficulties should arise, which we have a right 
to anticipate in the execution of the great object of our 
mission." 

At Way gat Island, they fell in with a large fleet of 
whalers, waiting for the ice to open to the northward. 

* Lieut. Parry's Journal 



78 MEMOIRS OF 

" Here, a proud sight to an Englishman presented it- 
self to our view ; for our surprise may, perhaps, in some 
degree, be imagined, when, on opening the land of this 
island, as we ran along it, we saw a fleet of between 
twenty and thirty sail of British ships at anchor, giving 
to this frozen and desolate region the appearance of a 
flourishing sea-port of some great European nation. 
Every ship cheered us as we passed, and our men re- 
turned it." 

While detained at Waygat Island, some Esquimaux 
came on board. John Sackhouse, the interpreter, or 
"Jack," as he was commonly called, acted as master 
of the ceremonies on the occasion, and Scotch reels 
were danced on deck, to the merry strains of a Shet- 
land fiddler. The likenesses of some of the party 
were taken, and they seemed much pleased on being 
shown the drawings. The behavior and manners of 
these poor people were very pleasing, 'and do high 
credit to the Danish missionaries residing among them. 
Some traits of their character deserve to be recorded. 
Captain Boss, wishing to have some of their dogs, de- 
sired they might be brought, in return for which he 
promised to give them some guns, powder, and shot, 
which they value highly for killing game. 

" To this they willingly agreed ; but, when they were 
told they might take the guns with them then, and bring 
the dogs to-morrow, they would not listen, but faithfully 
brought the dogs the next clay, and received their equi- 
valent. I believe this trait of honesty to be, entirely, the 
effect of the instruction they have received from their 
pastors, for every history of Greenland agrees in stating 
that, though they are honest among themselves, they 
think it no harm to cheat Europeans." 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 79 

The ice, at length, began to separate, and, a breeze 
having sprung up, preparations were once more made 
to advance. Jack, however, was missing. He had 
escorted his countrymen on shore, and had not yet re- 
turned. A boat was sent in search of him, and the 
poor fellow was found in one of the huts, with his 
collar-bone broken. The accident had been caused by 
the recoil of his gun, which he had overloaded on the 
strength of his own maxim : " Plenty powder, plenty 
kill." 

The ships now advanced slowly along the coast of 
Greenland. Independently of the many tedious stop- 
pages caused by the closing of the ice, they were con- 
tinually delayed by the slow progress of the "Alexan- 
der." The motion of the ice was so constant and rapid, 
that a passage, through which the " Isabella " had 
passed, was often closed before her consort came up in 
time to take advantage of the same opening. When 
the wind failed, the ships were towed by the boats, or 
" tracked" along the edge of the floe, and the services 
of the " Isabella's" fiddler were again called into requi- 
sition, to play to the men as they walked along. Nor 
was this species of navigation less dangerous than 
tedious. One of the whalers, which still accompanied 
them, was crushed between two moving floes, and the 
crew barely escaped with their lives. The ships, se- 
lected for the expedition, had been built so strongly, 
that they escaped unhurt from the pressure, which 
would have stove in a weaker vessel. As it was, the 
violence of these repeated shocks was such, that the 
whole frame of the vessel trembled from stem to stern. 
" We ought not," Lieut. Parry writes in his journal, 



80 MEMOIRS OF 

" to complain of the 'Alexander's ' sailing, while she 
stands these squeezes so well, for it would not be easy 
to make a ship sail, even tolerably, with so much addi- 
tional timber in her." 

On the 31st of July, in lat. 70° 33', a number of 
whales were seen in all directions, and the boats, being 
sent in pursuit, succeeded in killing one above 46 feet 
in length. On the same day they parted from the last 
whaler, the " Bon Accord," of Aberdeen, with three 
hearty cheers. The "Isabella" and "Alexander" had 
now fairly entered the field of discovery, and were left 
to pursue their course alone, along a coast unvisited by 
any European since the days of Baffin. The hopes of 
ultimate success, entertained by Lieut. Parry himself, 
will be seen from one of the last letters written by 
him, just before parting with the whalers. 

"K M. S. ' Alexander,'' July 25. 

"Dams' Straits. Lat. 15° 30', N. 

" My Dearest Parents : The Greenland ships having, 
at length, in this latitude, found a plentiful harvest of 
whales, which are now 'blowing' about us in all direc- 
tions, the ice being open for us to the northward, it is 
probable that we may here leave them. In regard to 
our advance to the northward, it may be said that the 
season has been just like any other ; for the whimsicali* 
ties (as I can not help calling them) of the ice are such, 
that it is impossible to say, from the appearance of the 
fields of it at one moment, how it will be in ten minutes 
afterwards, so suddenly, and apparently without any 
cause, does it sometimes open, when it could be least 
expected. There is one great reason, however, for think- 
ing that we shall do wonders in the next two months ; 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 81 

all the masters of the Greenland ships allow that, at this 
very time, when their business is finished in these parts, 
the most favorable opportunities of getting on to the 
northward occur, and they all look upon it as a business 
of little or no difficulty. At this season the ice is very 
rapidly dissolving. Every field is covered with innumer- 
able ponds, or pools of water, which are increasing in 
size, every moment, from the warmth of the air, which 
is that of a spring day in England. There is no doubt 
of Our getting much farther than any Europeans ever 
have been before, and the general opinion among us is, 
(though it should not be publicly expressed,) that we 
shall winter very comfortably, somewhere on the coast of 
North- America, that is, if Baffin's Bay be a bay — on the 
west coast of it. On examining Baffin's own account 
very narrowly, however, we incline to the opinion, that, 
however he might have intended to imply that he saw 
the land all round the north side of this bay, he has never 
said so. 

"I inclose a paper upon the subject of magnetism, 
Tvhich is a copy of duplicate letters I have written to 
Mr. Barrow. This is a subject which has, of late, proved 
very interesting. Since I wrote that letter, the variation 
of the compass has increased to 89°, so that the North 
Pole of the needle now points nearly due west! The 
dip of the needle is about 84° 40'. As the needle is 
supposed to direct itself constantly to the magnetic pole, 
it follows that this pole must now be west of us ; and, as 
the dip is not far from 90°, it follows, also, that it must 
be placed somewhere not very far from us in that direc 
tion. The greatest variation observed by Baffin here, 
200 years ago, (and the greatest, as he says, in the world,) 
was 56°, so that an amazing increase has taken place 
during that interval. I have remarked to you, in a 
4* 



82 MEMOIRS OF 

former letter, two or three facts relating to Baffin's 
journal, which prove his accuracy, as far as we have yet 
gone, beyond any doubt. 

" How delightful, my dearest parents, is this occupa- 
tion of mine ! If I could know that those whom I love 
most dearly in England are well, I should not have a 
wish ungratified. You know that God's mercy and pro- 
tection are not confined to one particular quarter of the 
globe He has created, but that they are equally extended 
to all. The dangers of the service on which I am en- 
gaged (I mean the danger as estimated by our short- 
sightedness) are, in reality, nothing, unless sailing in the 
smoothest water, and the finest climate, can be so con- 
sidered. You would be delighted to see our 'two or 
three gathered together ' in our little church every Sun- 
day, which the men like very much, and which the 
service has only prevented one or two Sundays since we 
left the Nore. I keep a very regular journal of every 
occurrence, which I never suffer to go one day behind, 
but put down each circumstance as it happens. I think 
I never enjoyed such uninterrupted and excellent health 
in my life as at present. Adieu ! Let us trust firmly and 
uniformly in God, and that He may ever bless you all, 
prays your ever affectionate 

" W. E. Parry." 

A few days after leaving the fishing-grounds, the 
two ships, becoming entangled in the ice, fell foul of 
one another with a terrible crash. The strength of 
their timbers was such, that they escaped without 
material damage, but spars, rigging, and boats were 
literally torn to pieces. This danger, however, was 
trifling in comparison with what followed. The floe, 
to. which the ships had been moored after the last 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 83 

disaster, was found to be drifting towards some strand- 
ed bergs, and all bands were set to work to cut a dock,* 
for tbe security of vessels in case of a collision. The 
ice proved too thick for the saws to make sufficiently 
rapid progress, and, as the next resource, the ships 
were warped, with considerable difficulty, along the 
edge of the floe to some distance. Hardly was this 
done, when the very part of the floe, where the dock 
had been commenced, came in contact with the berg 
with such violence, as to be forced some fifty feet up 
its steep side, and the broken fragments fell back on 
the ice with a loud crash. Had the ships been docked 
there, they must have been crushed to atoms, and no 
human strength and skill could have saved them. 

On the 8th of August, a landing was made on a 
small island, about six miles from the mainland. Here 
were some piles of stones, such as are commonly found 
in the Esquimaux ■ burial-grounds. The next day, 
some of the natives were seen advancing rapidly along 
the ice, in their sledges, towards the ships. After some 
hesitation, they were induced by Sackhouse to venture 
on board, and great was their astonishment at all that 
met their eyes. This tribe, it seems, had never before 
had any communication with Europeans, and, though 
their language was a dialect of that spoken by Sack- 
house and his countrymen of South-Greenland, they 
appear to have been cut off from all contact with their 
southern brethren. Unlike the other tribes of the 
Esquimaux . race, they possessed no canoes, and the 

* To "cut a dock" is to saw out a hole in the edge of a floe, largo 
enough to contain the ship. The use of it is to secure the ship from 
being " nipped" by the sudden advance of another floe. 



84 MEMOIRS OF 

very name Df " Kajak" was unknown to them. Like 
Montezuma's Mexicans before Cortez, they spoke of 
the ships as living creatures, and mistook the move- 
ment of the sails for the flapping of wings. "What 
great creatures are these?" they cried, "Do they come 
from the sun or moon?" During several days, while 
the ships were detained by the state of the ice, they 
received several visits from their new friends ; but, at 
length, the wind opened a passage in the barrier, and 
the water beyond was found tolerably clear of ice. 
Some spray, which now, once more, fell on the fore- 
castle, was hailed as a pleasing novelty, when the 
ships, so long entangled in the floe, renewed their 
usual pitching motion. In this way they passed the 
Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds of Baffin, and, at 
midnight, on the 19th of August, the "Isabella" and 
" Alexander" were off the entrance of Smith's Sound, 
at the northern extremity of Baffin's Bay, but did not 
approach sufficiently near the land to determine whe- 
ther it were only an inlet, or a strait leading into 
the sea beyond. In the same cursory and unsatisfac- 
tory way was passed the mouth of Jones's Sound, on 
the west shore of the Bay. 

On the 30th, a wide opening in the land to the 
westward was observed, and the water being deep, 
and entirely free from ice, the ships made for the 
entrance of Lancaster Sound. The expectations of 
many were now raised to the highest pitch. The 
" crow's nest" was continually visited throughout the 
day, and the eyes of all strained to eaten a glimpse 
of the land they eagerly desired not to see at the end. 
" Here," writes Lieut. Parry, in his journal, " Baffin's 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 85 

hopes of a passage began to be less, every day more 
than another; here, on the contrary, mine begin to 
grow strong. I think there is something in his ac- 
count, which gives cause to suspect he did not see the 
bottom of Lancaster Sound, that is, whether it were 
really a sound or a strait, nor have we yet seen the 
bottom of it." The next day, they were fairly within 
the sound, the "Isabella" a few miles ahead of her 
slower consort. ""We continued to run with all the 
sail we could press on the ship. I never wished so 
much that the ' Alexander' were a better sailer, for 
the inlet looks more and more promising, the swell 
comes from the north-west compass, (that is, south- 
south-west true,) and continues just as it does in the 
ocean. It is impossible to remark this circumstance, 
without feeling a hope that it may be caused by this 
inlet being a passage into a sea to the westward of it." 
These hopes were still as high as ever, the water as 
deep and free from ice as before, when, all of a sud- 
den, the "Isabella" tacked, and rejoined the "Alex- 
ander." Both vessels retraced their course, and Lan- 
caster Sound was left behind. To those on board the 
latter vessel, such a proceeding on the part of the com- 
modore was inexplicable. In Lieut. Parry's journal, 
not a remark is made on what must have been a severe 
blow to his confident expectations of success ; but his 
voyage up the same sound, the next year, is the best 
comment he could make upon the existence of the 
Croker Mountains, which the imagination of the com- 
mander of the "Isabella" had conjured up, as barring 
all advance to the westward. 

The private journal of another officer on board the 



86 MEMOIRS OF 

" Alexander" is more emphatic on this point. "Not 
any ice was to be seen in any direction, and at 7 
o'clock, the weather being remarkably fine and clear, 
land was not to be discerned between K. 21° W. and 
1ST. 44° E. At this time, our distance from the north- 
ern land was estimated at seven or eight leagues, and 
from the southern six or seven leagues, but, alas ! the 
sanguine hopes, and high expectations, excited by this 
promising appearance of things, were but of short 
duration, for, about three o'clock in the afternoon, the 
1 Isabella' tacked, very much to our surprise indeed, as 
we could not see any thing like land at the bottom of 
the inlet, nor was the weather well calculated at the 
time for seeing any object at a great distance, it being 
somewhat hazy. "When she tacked, the ' Isabella' was 
about three or four miles ahead of us." 

During the homeward voyage, little occurred worthy 
of mention. In Davis' Straits, the ships parted com- 
pany in a heavy gale, but arrived at Lerwick, within 
two hours of each other, on the same day, October 30, 
just six months since they left that port. Here they 
heard that the "Dorothea" and " Trent" had returned 
to England, having failed in accomplishing their ob- 
ject. Both had been roughly handled by the ice, and 
the former vessel, at one time, was so disabled, as to 
be in a foundering condition. - 

The following was the first letter written by Lieut. 
Parry after his return : 

".Nov. 1, 1818. 
"JK If. S. 'Alexander^ Shetland. 

" My Dearest Parents : I am delighted at having an 
opportunity of conveying to you the intelligence of our 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 87 

arrival. A few moments only are allowed me to write, 
and we shall be in England, in a few days, ourselves. For 
the present, therefore, I shall only say, that I have never 
had one moment's indisposition, and am now in the most 
perfect health, and have done my duty. These are bless- 
ings for which I am truly grateful to God, and for which 
your thanksgivings will, I know., be offered to Him. If I 
only knew that those I love in England were well, I should 
be very comfortable. On the subject of our expedition I 
shall not say any thing now, for reasons which, by and 
by, will be obvious. The unanimity that has prevailed 
among us, and the excellent health every man has en- 
joyed, is delightful. Adieu ! God bless you all." 

The return of the expedition sadly disappointed the 
hopes of those, who had so sanguinely believed in the 
existence of a north-west passage. Captain Eoss had, 
it is true, found the headlands and sounds of Baffin's 
Bay to exist as Baffin had described them, and, so far, 
had restored the credit of that able navigator, whose 
discoveries had been almost erased from the map ; but 
he had declared the impossibilhVy of finding an open- 
ing to the westward, in terms no less positive than 
those employed by Baffin himself. Of the five sounds 
particularly named by the latter, and less closely ap- 
proached by Eoss, three have been since proved to be 
actual passages. But though, as regarded the main 
question at issue, so little had been accomplished, suf- 
ficient had been done to convince some of those en- 
gaged in the expedition, that more might easily be 
effected. 

" I feel confident," writes Parry in his journal, after 
leaving Lancaster Sound, "from all I have lately wit- 



88 MEMOIRS OF 

nessecl, that the attempts at disccoveiy in the polar 
regions have always, hitherto, been relinquished just 
at a time when there was the greatest chance of suc- 
ceeding." In a letter written home, shortly after his 
return to Shetland, he says : 

" That we have not sailed through the North-West 
Passage, our return in so short a period is, of course, a 
sufficient indication ; but I know it is hi existence, and 
not very hard to find. This opinion of mine, which is 
not lightly formed, must on no account be uttered out 
of our family ; and I am sure it will not, when I assure 
you that every future prospect of mine depends upon its 

being kept a secret Our ships are in as good 

condition as ever, and, with a few stores, I should be 
content to go again with them next April. I only wish 
they would let me ! " 

His opinion of the matter was, however, soon known 
at headquarters, and, doubtless, had considerable in- 
fluence in the measures promptly taken by the Admi- 
ralty. He writes : 

" London, November 28. 
" In my letter of yesterday, I purposely avoided tell- 
ing you that, on that day, I had, by Mr. Barrow's advice, 
sent my card up to Lord Melville, Wednesday being the 
day appointed for seeing officers. We, that is, Franklin 
and myself, saw Mr. Hay, who acquainted us, from his 

Lordship, that he would see us on Friday About 

three o'clock, Lord Melville saw us, Franklin, as senior 
officer, the first. He conversed with me upon our expe- 
dition, and, what was more interesting to me, upon what 
yet remained to be done. You must know that, on our 



SIR W. E. PABRY. 89 

late voyage, we entered a magnificent strait from thirty 
to sixty miles wide, upon the west coast of Baffin's Bay, 
and — came out again, nobody knows why ! You know 
I was not sanguine, formerly, as to the existence of a 
north-west passage, or as to the practicability of it if 
it did exist. But our voyage to this Lancaster Sound, 
as Baffin calls it, has left quite a different impression, 
for it has not only given us every reason to believe that 
it is a broad passage into some sea to the westward, (pro- 
bably that of Hearne and Mackenzie,) but, what is more 
important still, that it is, at certain seasons, practicable ; 
for, when we were there, there was not a bit of ice to 
be seen. This truth has been fully communicated to 
Lord Melville by Barrow, who had, with his usual dis- 
cernment, immediately discovered it, without any infor- 
mation from me upon the subject. Lord Melville con- 
versed with me, pretty freely, on the probability of a 
passage there." 

Under these circumstances, it was not likely that 
the energetic Secretary of the Admiralty would allow 
the great question to rest, and, accordingly, in Decem- 
ber of the same year, two vessels, the "Hecla" and 
"Griper" were selected, under the advice of Parry 
himself, and taken into dock to be repaired and 
strengthened for Arctic service. 

"Who is to command them," he says, "we do not 
know yet, but it is plain that I shall have some finger 
in this new pie, which is all I care about. It was also 
very gratifying to find, on going to the Hydrographical 
Office, that they were making copies of my charts of 
Baffin's Bay, in preference to any others." 

It was not long before his highest hopes were con- 



90 MEMOIRS OP 

firmed. On the 16th January, 1819, lie was, to his 
own intense satisfaction, appointed to the command of 
the "Hecla," and of the expedition, Lieut. Liddon 
being placed under his orders in the " Griper." 

" There was a great discussion at the Admiralty, as 
Mr; Maxwell's letter informed us, before they would 
finally decide who was to command the expedition. Mr. 
Barrow was for me, and Sir G. Cockburn was well in- 
clined towards me. The latter, however, being deter- 
mined to be governed by no feeling but the fitness of the 
person he should choose, was requested by Mr. Barrow 
to take all the journals, and to form a judgment by 
them. It was on this score that he told Lord Melville 
that I was the person he should recommend, and I was 
chosen accordingly. This is very gratifying to me and 
to you all. I have the account from Mr. Barrow. You 
will be pleased to hear that all our supplies will be on 
the same liberal scale as last year's expedition, which 
is, indeed, taken as a sort of standard, and, as far as re- 
gards the material part of the equipment, they can not do 
better." 

He was not less gratified with the Admiralty in- 
structions, in which he was recommended to attempt 
the passage, in the first instance, through Lancaster 
Sound. It will be a matter of surprise to many, as it 
was, no doubt, to Parry himself, that, notwithstanding 
the confidence thus reposed in him, promotion was 
still delayed. For this, however, he now cared com- 
paratively little. "When I look," he said, "at the 
1 Hecla,' and at the chart of Lancaster Sound, oh! what 
is promotion to this ! " 



SIE W. E. PAERY. 91 



OHAPTEE Y. 

Parryte first Voyage — "Heela " and " Griper" pass through Lancaster 
Sound — " "Westward, Ho I " — Winter at Melville Island — Return 
Home — Promotion to Commander — Freedom of Bath, etc. 



"I have not the smallest doubt, that a ship provided, as we were, with abun- 
dance of provisions, warm clothing, and fuel, might winter in the highest latitude 
that we have been in, without suffering materially either from cold or disease."— 
Lieut. Parry's Journal in E. M. 8. "Alexander," 1818. 



1819—1820. 

The "Hecla" and "Griper" were fitting out at 
Deptford, the former in the very spot in the dockyard 
where the "Alexander" had been commissioned by 
Parry in the preceding year. " I can scarcely," he 
says, "yet bring myself to believe, that one short 
twelvemonth has conferred upon me the command in 
an expedition, of which I was then proud to be second." 
The equipment of the ships was left entirely to himself, 
and no pains were spared in following out his instruc- 
tions. In order to expedite matters, the work was car- 
ried on by torchlight every evening, after the usual 
hours ; and it was said, that the same amount of work 
had scarcely ever been done in the yard, by an equal 



92 MEMOIKS OF 

number of men, in the same space of time. The con- 
fidence placed in his judgment was so great, that no 
officer was appointed to the vessels under his command, 
without first consulting him, and without his full con- 
sent. With the exception of Lieut. Liddon, an officer, 
in Parry's opinion, of great promise, and one beside, 
all had been employed in one or other of the two ex- 
peditions of the previous year. Franklin, with whom 
Parry would gladly have been associated, and under 
whom he would have been well content to serve, was 
not of their number, having been appointed to the com- 
mand of that land expedition to the shores of the North- 
American Continent, which was invested with an inter- 
est, if not in its results, at least in its adventures and 
misfortunes, even greater than that which we are about 
to describe. 

With such officers to serve under him, Parry felt 
success to be doubly sure. 

" I really think " (are his words) " that we are going 
out under the most comfortable circumstances, in every 
respect, that can be imagined. How delightful it is that 
we should all know each other, and,T may add, how much 
better for the service ! All will, I trust, be confidence 
and good humor. We are all looking to one object, and 
I am certain there is not an officer on board who will not 
do his utmost to attain it'."* 

The ships were readily manned. No sooner were 
they commissioned than crowds of volunteers offered 
themselves, and the only difficulty was that of selection. 
When this was complete, no vessels in the British Navy 
could boast a finer set of petty officers, seamen, and 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 93 

marines, than the fourscore and fifteen, who answered 
to their names at the muster on board the " Hecla " 
and "Griper," on the morning of the 1st of May, 1819. 
"Perhaps," writes Parry, "I ought not to praise my 
ship too much, for it is something like praising one's 
own child, but she really appears to me to be perfec- 
tion for this service. I believe she is as complete as 
human art can contrive. Oh ! how I long to be among 
the ice !" With the " Griper " he was not so well con- 
tent,, and, before the ships left the river, he had actu- 
ally contemplated the possibility of leaving her behind 
altogether, and boldly proceeding alone in his favorite 
" Hecla." On the passage to the Nore, however, she 
answered better than had been expected, and he aban- 
doned the hazardous project of a solitary Arctic voyage : 
but her slow sailing proved, throughout the voyage, as 
great a source of hindrance and vexation, as that of the 
" Alexander " had been in the year before. 

On the 11th of May, the ships left the river, and 
passed the Orkneys on the 24th. Four days after- 
wards, they were in sight of the small solitary crag 
called Eockall. " There is, perhaps," observes Parry, 
" no more striking proof of the infinite value of chro- 
nometers at sea, than the certainty with which a ship 
may sail directly for a single rock like this, rising like 
a speck out of the ocean, and at the distance of forty- 
seven leagues from any other land." In obedience to 
the Admiralty instructions, bottles were thrown over- 
board, each containing an account of the situation of 
the ships,, with the date, and a request in six European 
languages, that whoever found it would forward it to 
the Secretary of the Admiralty. This was done, every 



94 MEMOIRS OF 

day, during this and subsequent voyages, except when 
the ships were beset in the ice. On the 15th of June, 
they had a view of Cape Farewell, at the extraordinary 
distance of forty leagues. This was attributed to the 
increased transparency of the atmosphere before rain, 
aided by the well-known effects of refraction in those 
seas. 

As the ships advanced along the east side of Davis 
Straits, they found a uniform, and almost unbroken, 
sheet of ice to the westward, interspersed with numer- 
ous icebergs of a large size. Against these the heavy 
southerly swell dashed the loose ice with tremendous 
force, sometimes raising a white spray to the height of 
more than a hundred feet, " accompanied with a loud 
roar, resembling the roar of distant thunder, and pre- 
senting a scene at once sublime and terrific."* They 
had now almost reached the latitude of Lancaster Sound, 
but the barrier of ice which intervened was as obstinate 
as ever ; and, for some time, all efforts to pierce it were 
in vain. At night, the fog used to freeze so hard in 
the rigging and sails, that some tons had to be shaken 
off in the morning, before the ropes could be properly 
handled. Once, the "Hecla" was nearly nipped be- 
tween a floe and an iceberg, against which a strong cur- 
rent was driving the former. The boats were lowered 
only just in time to tow the ship clear, for, one minute 
afterwards, the ice came violently in contact with the 
berg, surrounding it on every side. 

Convinced, by his experience of the last year, of the 
probable existence of clear water on the other side of 

* Parry's Narrative of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North- West 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 95 

Baffin's Bay, Parry made one more strenuous effort to 
force a passage to the westward, and, this time, his 
exertions were crowned with success. After a whole 
week of - most laborious and tedious sailing, tracking, 
and towing, sometimes not making more than four 
miles in one day, or a few hundred yards in a night, 
the barrier was passed, and clear water gained. Sir 
James Lancaster's Sound was now open before them. 
The best months in the year for the navigation of the 
northern seas were yet to come, while the magnificent 
range of mountains at the entrance of the Sound, re- 
calling forcibly to mind the events of the preceding 
autumn, inspired all with feelings of animation and 
eager hope. On the 31st of July, a party was sent on 
shore to a spot which had been visited in the former 
year. The flag-staff they had erected was still standing, 
and the tracks of their own feet were as distinct as if 
imprinted yesterday, showing that little or no snow had 
fallen for the last eleven months. This, too, was a 
favorable sign. "We were now" (writes the com- 
mander of the expedition) ." about to enter and explore 
that great sound or inlet, which had obtained a degree 
of celebrity, beyond what it might otherwise have been 
considered to possess, from the very opposite opinions 

which have been held with regard to it 

"We all felt it was that point of the voyage, which was 
to determine the success or failure of the expedition." 
A westerly wind and swell, setting down the Sound, 
for some time tantalized these ardent expectations of all 
on board the two vessels, in those days unaided by the 
power of steam, now so invaluable an assistance to 
deeds of naval enterprise. At length the wished-for 



,96 MEMOIRS OF 

moment came. An easterly breeze sprang up, and a 
crowd of sail was set, to carry to the westward the im- 
patient and eager discoverers of seas, before unploughed 
by any keel, and of lands on which the eyes of civilized 
men had never yet rested. 

" It is more easy to imagine than describe the almost 
breathless anxiety, which was now visible in every coun- 
tenance, while, as the breeze increased to a fresh gale, we 
ran np the Sound. The mastheads were crowded by offi- 
cers and men, during the whole afternoon ; and an un- 
concerned observer, if any one could have been uncon- 
cerned on such an occasion, would have been amused at 
the eagerness with which the various reports from the 
' crow's-nest ' were received, all, however, hitherto favor- 
able to our most sanguine hopes." 

Yarions were the alternations of hope and fear. Some 
flattered themselves " that they had actually entered 
the Polar Sea " — others "began to calculate the distance 
and bearings of Icy Cape " — while, again, the cry of 
" land " from the mast-head cast all their hopes to the 
ground, until the dreaded barrier was discovered to be 
" only an island of no very large extent." Soon, how- 
ever, it was evident to all, that, as far as finding the 
entrance to the North-West Passage was concerned, 
their efforts had been crowned with complete success. 
Croker Mountains had, phantom-like, faded into thin 
air before the bows of the " Hecla." To a large open- 
ing in the northern shore Lieut. Parry gave the name 
of Croker's Bay, "being anxious to seize, as it would 
seem, the earliest opportunity of making some compen- 
sation for having transformed, as with a touch of Harle- 



SIR W. E. PAURY. 97 

quin's wand, the magnificent and insuperable range of 
mountains, which a former expedition had assigned to 
one Secretary of the Admiralty, into a broad and un- 
interrupted passage, (Barrow^s Strait,) bearing the name 
of the other Secretary. In fact, neither mountain, nor 
ice, nor any other obstacle, real or imaginary, opposed 
the progress of Lieut. Parry." * 

Hitherto, the water had been entirely free from ice, 
but soon a compact body of floes was found blocking 
up the passage to the westward. The weather, which 
had been for some time rather hazy, now cleared up, 
and a large opening was seen to the southward, over 
which the dark "water-sky" seemed to promise an 
open sea. In hopes that this might lead to a clear pass- 
age, in a lower latitude than that of Barrow's Strait, 
the ships stood down the east side of Prince Eegent's 
Inlet, so named in honor of the royal personage, the 
anniversary of whose birthday fell about this time. As 
they sailed down this inlet, they were approaching ra- 
pidly to the Magnetic Pole of the earth, afterwards 
visited by Sir J. C. Eoss, then a midshipman on board 
the " Hecla." The sluggishness of the compasses had 
been gradually increasing ever since they passed Lan- 
caster Sound, and now they "witnessed, for the first 
time, the curious phenomenon of the directive power 

* Quarterly Review, xxv. p. 180. 

After the return of the expedition to England, the following epigram 
appeared in one of the morning papers : 

Old Sinbad tells us, he a whale had seen 
So like the land, it seemed an island green ; 
But Ross has told the converse of this tale, 
The land he saw was — " very like a whale /" 
5 



98 MEMOIRS OF 

of the needle becoming so weak, as to be completely 
overcome by the attraction of the ship, so that the nee- 
dle might now be said to point to the north pole of the 
ship." For the purposes of navigation, therefore, the 
compasses were no longer of use, and the binnacles were 
stowed away below, while, for magnetical observations, 
the compasses had to be removed to the shore, or the 
ice. 

The hopes, which had been gradually rising with the 
increasing width of the inlet, were soon rudely dashed 
to the ground, by the sight of an extensive barrier of 
ice before them, beyond which no water could be seen. 
They retraced their steps, accordingly, to Barrow's 
Straits, where, to their joy and surprise, the barrier 
of ice, which had before stopped them, had entirely 
disappeared. Fogs and light winds rendered their 
passage slow, but, on the evening of the 22 d August, 
they were off the mouth of a broad channel, eight 
leagues in width, on the northern shore of the strait. 
To this the name of the Duke of "Wellington was given : 

" The arrival off this grand opening was an event for 
which we had long been looking with much anxiety and 
impatience ; for the continuity of land to the northward 
had always been a source of uneasiness to us, principally, 
from the possibility that it might take a turn to the 
southward, and unite with the coast of America. The 
appearance of this broad opening, free from ice, and of 
the land on each side of it, more especially that on the 
west, left scarcely a doubt on our minds of the latter 
being an island, and relieved us from all anxiety on this 
score. Every one felt that we were now, finally, disen- 
tangled from the land which forms the western side of 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 99 

Baffin's Bay, and that, in fact, we had actually entered 
the Polar Sea.''* 

The sea being still sufficiently open to the westward, 
Parry did not consider himself justified in exploring 
Wellington Channel. Their progress was still much 
retarded by fogs, which obscured the view at times so 
completely, that the " Griper " could not be seen 
from the " Hecla " at the distance of a cable's 
length astern. In the absence of the sun as well as of 
the compasses, the ship's course could only be regulated 
by the direction of the breeze, which, fortunately, blew 
pretty steadily from the eastward. Notwithstanding 
these difficulties, considerable advance was made in the 
desired direction, and, on the 3d September, the cheer- 
ing intelligence was announced by Parry to his crews, 
that they had become entitled to the first in the scale 
of rewards, granted by Parliament to those who should 
succeed in penetrating to longitude 110° "W. of Green- 
wich, within the Arctic Circle. A promontory of Mel- 
ville Island, off which they were at the time, was 
named by the men, " Bounty Cape," and hailed by all 
as the first fruits of success. 

Beyond this point was another cape, to which the ice 
was so closely attached, that further advance for the 
present, seemed impossible. Fortunately, an excellent 
harbor offered itself, and the ships were brought to 
anchor in the "Bay of the ( Hecla' and 'Griper.'" 
This was the first spot where the ships had anchored 
since leaving Yarmouth Roads, and, as it seemed to 
mark, in a very decided manner, the completion of one 
stage of the voyage, the ensigns and pendants were 

* Parry's Narrative. 



100 MEMOIRS OF 

lioisted. " It created in us," writes Parry, " no ordi- 
nary feelings of pleasure, to see the British flag waving, 
for the first time, in those regions, which had hitherto 
been considered beyond the limits of the habitable 
parts of the world." 

It was now the 7th of September, and the season for 
navigation was, evidently, fast drawing to its close. 
Parry, however, felt that every moment of the time 
which yet remained was precious, and determined to 
extend his operations to the latest possible period. The 
anchors were, accordingly once more weighed, and the 
ships crept slowly along the south shore of Melville 
Island. The nights were already so dark, that, de- 
prived of the use of compasses, they could not venture 
to move between the hours of ten and two ; and, even 
in broad daylight, the dangers, to which they were 
every hour exposed, were such as might have daunted 
the stoutest heart. Once, a floe, running against the 
ice to which the " Hecla " was secured, turned her vio- 
lently round, as on a pivot ; and on another occasion, 
both ships narrowly escaped destruction, being within 
a few hundred yards of the place, where an enormous 
floe dashed against the heavy grounded ice. A few 
days later, the " Griper " was driven on shore by the 
action of the ice, and was only got afloat again after 
severe labor on the part of both crews. Lieut. Liddon 
was then very ill, and Parry proposed to remove him 
to the "Hecla," until the "Griper" should be afloat. 
To this offer he turned a deaf ear, and in the spirit 
of a true British sailor, declared he would be the last, 
instead of the first, to leave his ship, and remained, 
throughout the time, seated on the lee side of the ship, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 101 

giving the necessary orders. These continued mishaps 
brought all reluctantly to the conclusion, that the time 
had arrived, when it became necessary to look out for 
winter quarters. With the concurrence of his officers, 
Lieut. Parry determined to regain, if possible, the "Bay 
of the ' Hecla ' and ' Griper,' " which alone seemed to 
offer convenient shelter. This, however, was not so 
easy ; the ice in the bay had increased much since they 
left it, though only a few days before, and, to add to 
their difficulties the young ice was forming rapidly on 
the surface of the water. Before they could reach the 
harbor which had been, selected in the bay, it was 
necessary to cut a channel of more than two miles in 
length, through which the ships were drawn into their 
winter quarters. For three days, both ships' companies 
were employed in this arduous task, in which officers 
and men shared alike, while, foremost among all, ever 
ready to devise expedients, and, by example and 
word, to encourage the rest, was Lieut. Parry himself. 
Up to their knees in water, with the thermometer 
nearly at zero, not a complaint was heard, and, when 
the ships at length, at three P.M. on the 26th September, 
reached their station in Winter Harbor, the event 
was hailed with three as hearty cheers as ever burst 
from the lips of British seamen. 

The most difficult part of Parry's task now began. 
Hitherto, while the necessity of active exertion re- 
mained, and constant watchfulness of eye and hand 
were requisite in the prosecution of the dangerous voy- 
age, it was comparatively easy for the commander of 
the expedition to preserve the health and cheerfulness 
of the crews. Now, however, it needed all the re- 



102 MEMOIES OF 

sources of a fertile mind, and an active example, to 
prevent the evil consequences likely to arise from want 
of regular employment, during the dreary hours of a 
northern winter. But Parry was fully equal to the 
emergency. 

"Having now reached the station where in all proba- 
bility, we were destined to remain for at least eight or 
nine months, during three of which we were not to see 
the face of the sun, my attention was immediately and 
•imperiously called to various important duties, many of 
them of a singular nature, such as had, for the first time, 
devolved on any officer of His Majesty's Navy, and might, 
indeed, be considered of rare occurrence in the whole 
history of navigation."* 

The security of the ships, and comfort of those on 
board, was the first concern. Both vessels were housed 
over with thick coverings, and the berths warmed, as 
well as the circumstances would allow, by a current of 
heated air from an oven. The upper deck was cleared, 
to leave room for active exercise, when the weather 
should be too inclement to leave the ships. On these 
occasions, the men were made to run round the deck, 
to the tune of a hand-organ, or one of their own songs ; 
while, as a further safeguard against scurvy, they were 
obliged to drink, each day, a certain quantity of lime- 
juice and water, under the inspection of an officer. 
" This precaution," says Parry, " may seem unneces- 
sary to those who do not know how much sailors re- 
semble children, in all those points in which their own 
health and comfort are concerned." 

During the first few weeks after their arrival, hunt- 

* Parry's Narrative. 



SIR W. E. PAURY. 103 

ing parties were sent out, when the weather allowed, 
and some deer and grouse were added to the common 
stock, from which all shared alike ; but, before the end 
of October, all the animals on Melville Island had mi- 
grated to the southward. The tedious monotony of 
the view beyond the ships may be well imagined. 

" "When viewed from the summit of the neighboring 
hills, on one of those calm and clear days which not rni- 
frequently occurred during the winter, the scene was such 
as to induce contemplations, which had, perhaps, more of 
melancholy than of any other feeling. Not an object 
was to be seen, on which the eye could long rest with 
pleasure, unless when directed to the spot where the ships 
lay, and where our little colony was planted. The smoke 
which there issued from the several fires, affording a cer- 
tain indication of the presence of man, gave a partial 
cheerfulness to this part of the prospect, and the sound 
of voices, (which, during the cold weather, could be heard 
at a much greater distance than usual,) served now and 
then, to break the silence which reigned around us, a 
silence far different from that peaceful composure, which 
characterizes the landscape of a cultivated country ; it 
was the deathlike stillness of the most dreary desolation, 
and the total absence of animated existence. Such, in- 
deed, was the want of objects to afford relief to the eye, 
or amusement to the mind, that a stone of more than 
usual size appearing above the snow, in the direction in 
which we were going, immediately became a mark, on 
which our eyes were unconsciously fixed, and towards 
which we mechanically advanced. 

" Dreary as such a scene must necessarily be, it could 
not however, be said to be wholly wanting in interest, 
especially when associated in the mind with the pecu- 



104 MEMOIRS OF 

liarity of our situation, the object which had brought us 
hither, and the hopes which the least sanguine among us 
sometimes entertained, of spending a part of our next 
winter in the more genial climate of the South Sea Islands. 
Perhaps, too, though none of us then ventured to confess 
it, our thoughts would sometimes involuntarily wander 
homewards, and institute a comparison between this 
desolate region, and the livelier aspect of the happy land 
which we had left behind us." 

With so little variety on shore, and no prospect of 
release for a period of several months, it became abso- 
lutely necessary to provide some amusements for the 
ships' companies. Lieut. Parry proposed, therefore, to 
his officers to get up a play occasionally. This pro- 
posal was readily seconded, and, under the auspices of 
Lieut. Beechy, as stage-manager, the theatre on board 
the " Ilecla" contributed greatly to preserve the gen- 
eral cheerfulness and good humor, which had hitherto 
subsisted. " In these amusements," he writes, " I gladly 
undertook a part myself, considering that an example 
of cheerfulness, by giving a direct countenance to every 
thing that could contribute to it, was not the least 
essential part of my duty, under the peculiar circum- 
stances in which we were placed." 

The first play was performed on the 5th of Novem- 
ber, on which day the sun was seen for the last time. 
These theatrical entertainments took place regularly 
once a fortnight, and afforded much amusement, though 
the thermometer on the stage was, usually, many 
degrees below zero. Even the occupation of fitting up 
the theatre, and taking it to pieces again, was regarded 
by the captain as a matter of no little importance ; " for 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 105 

I dreaded," lie says, " the want of employment, as one 
of the worst evils that was likely to befall us. As the 
stock of plays on board was rather scanty, consisting 
of only one or two odd volumes, our authors set to work, 
and produced, as a Christmas piece, a new musical 
entertainment.". This had special reference to the 
service in which they were engaged, being called the 
" North- West-Passage : or, the Yoyage finished," and 
the reader will not be surprised to learn, that the 
author was none other than Parry himself. 

In order still further to carry out his object of pro- 
viding occupation and amusement, especially for the 
officers, he suggested the idea of starting a weekly 
newspaper, of which Captain Sabine should be editor, 
to be supported by original contributions from both 
ships. He was aware that, as a -general rule such a 
paper might be open to objection in a man-of-war, but 
his confidence in the discretion and good disposition of 
his officers was too great for him to apprehend any 
serious consequences ; and the issue proved that this 
confidence was not misplaced. "I can safely say," are 
his own words, " that the weekly contributions had the 
happy effect of employing the leisure hours of those 
who furnished them, and of diverting the mind from 
the gloomy prospect, which would sometimes obtrude 
itself on the stoutest heart." The "North GeorgiaD 
Gazette, and "Winter Chronicle" was laid on the public 
table of the officers' mess-room every Monday morning, 
and its arrival was eagerly looked forward to, as one 
of the events of the week. When the ships returned 
home, the Gazette was printed by the officers at the 
request of their friends, and of all the contributions, 



105 MEMOIRS OF 

whether of good-natured criticism, humorous invention, 
or more serious feeling, those from the pen of Parry 
yield to none. 

Occupied in this way, the shortest day, or, to speak 
more strictly, the depth of the long winter night, came 
upon them. The return of each day was only marked 
by a twilight for some time about noon, during which 
they were able to walk out for an hour or two. 

" There was usually, in clear weather, a beautiful arch 
of bright red light overspreading the southern horizon, 
for an hour or two before and after noon, the light in- 
creasing, of course, in strength, as the sun approached the 
meridian. Short as the day now was, if, indeed, any part 
of the twenty-four hours could properly be called by that 
name, the reflection of light from the sun, aided occasion- 
ally by a bright moon, was, at all times, sufficient to pre- 
vent our experiencing; even under the most unfavorable 
circumstances, any thing like the gloomy night which 
occurs in more temperate climates. Especial care was 
taken during the time the sun was below the horizon, to 
preserve the strictest regularity in the time of our meals, 
and the- various occupations which engaged our attention 
during the day ; and this, together with the gradual and 
imperceptible manner in which the days had shortened, 
prevented this kind of life, so novel to us in reality, from 
appearing very inconvenient, or, indeed like any thing out 
of the common way. It must be confessed, however, 
that we were not sorry to have arrived, without any 
serious suffering, at the shortest day, and we watched, 
with no ordinary degree of pleasure, the slow approach 
of the returning sun." 

Christmas Day was raw and cold, with a good deal 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 107 

of snow. Divine service was performed in both snips, 
and, in order still further to mark the day, some addi- 
tion was made to the usual dinner of the crews, who 
also enjoyed an extra allowance of grog, to drink the 
health of friends in England. The officers also met at 
a social dinner, and the day was distinguished, as far 
as circumstances would permit, with much of home 
festivity. A piece of English roast beef, which formed 
part of their dinner, had been on board since the pre- 
ceding May, having been preserved without salt, merely 
by the cold. 

Thursday, the 3d of February, was an eventful day 
for the crews of the imprisoned ships. A few minutes 
before noon, from the refractive power of the atmo- 
sphere, a glimpse was caught, from the " Hecla's" main- 
top, of the sun, which had been beneath the horizon 
since the 11th of November, On the 7th, his orb was 
fully visible, and, though some months must still elapse 
before the ships could be set free, preparations were 
made for the coming summer, in the collection of stones 
for ballast, etc. This month of February notwithstand- 
ing the presence of the sun to cheer them was actually 
the coldest they had experienced. On the 15th, the 
spirit in the thermometer descended as low as — 55°, 
almost the lowest degree that had ever been recorded.* 
"Notwithstanding the low temperature of the external 
atmosphere, the officers contrived to act, as usual, the 
play announced for the evening ; but it must be con- 

* A yet lower degree of temperature was afterwards registered by 
Sir John Richardson, at Fort Confidence, in 1848-9; and still more 
recently, by Dr. Kane, to the north of Smith's Sound. The mean tem- 
perature of the three winter months at Melville Island was — 28° 36' t 



108 MEMOIRS OF 

fessed, that it was almost too cold for either the actors 
or the audience to enjoy it, especially for those of the 
former, who undertook to appear in female dresses." 
The ships, throughout this winter were insufficiently 
warmed, and fuel moreover was scarce. The bleak 
shore offered no substitute, and their own stock was 
carefully husbanded, in case they might be obliged to 
spend another winter in the ice. " It is a pleasure to 
me," Parry would often say in after life, " even to stir 
the fire — for I have known what it is to have to hide 
the poker, lest our coals should be made to burn too 
quickly." 

One day towards the close of the month, a fire broke 
out in the observatory on shore, and, in the exertions 
made to extinguish the flames, many severe frost-bites 
were incurred. 

" The appearance" (writes Parry) " which our faces 
presented at the fire, was a curious one, almost every nose 
and cheek having become quite white with frost-bites, in 
five minutes after being exposed to the weather ; so that 
it was deemed necessary for the medical gentlemen, to- 
gether with some others appointed to assist them, to go 
constantly round, while the men were working at the fire, 
and to rub with snow the part affected, in order to 
restore circulation." 

The month of March set in mildly, and the solid ice, 
which had, for some time, lined the ship's sides,- from 
the accumulated vapor, began to melt. From the 
lower deck of the " Hecla" more than 500 gallons of 
ice were carried away, being the accumulation of less 
than four weeks. In like manner, on opening the 
deadlights on her stern windows, more than twelve 



SIR W. E. TARRY. 109 

large bucketsful of ice were removed from between the 
double sashes. On the last day of April, the tempera- 
ture rose as high as freezing, or what, to them, might 
rather be called the thawing point, being the first time 
such an event had occurred for nearly eight months. 
The contrast to the previous excess of cold was so 
striking, that it required all the Commander's authority 
to prevent the men from imprudently throwing aside 
their winter clothing, an alteration which might have 
been attended with serious consequences. 

The expedition having been victualled only for two 
years, of which one had now expired, Lieut. Parry con- 
sidered it expedient to reduce the daily allowance of 
food to two thirds of the established proportion. The 
cheerfulness with which this reduction was received by 
officers and men was most gratifying to him, as an 
additional proof of the zealous principle of duty, which 
had marked the conduct of all under his command ever 
since they left England. 

The appearance of the first -ptarmigan on the 12th 
of May, and the discovery of some tracks of rein-deer 
and mask-oxen, were hailed with delight as sure omens 
of returning summer. The "game laws/' as the men 
called them, were now revived, every animal that was 
killed being regarded as public property, and as such 
regularly issued, like any other provision, without any 
distinction of persons. The ice round the ship, six 
feet in thickness, was now cut through with consider- 
able labor, and, before long, the ships were once more 
afloat. The ice in the harbor, and to seaward was, 
however, still as thick and as close as ever, and, when 
Parry considered that in about three weeks the sun 



110 MEMOIRS OF 

would again begin to decline towards the southward, 
he confessed that even his most sanguine expectations 
of the complete success of the enterprise were somewhat 
staggered. The thaw, however, was nearer at hand 
than they had reason to suppose. Early on the morn- 
ing of the 24th, one of the men reported that he had 
felt a few drops of rain, an event hailed with much 
satisfaction, nothing being so effectual as rain in dis- 
solving the ice. The same evening a smart shower 
actually fell. So unaccustomed were all to the appear- 
ance of water in a fluid state, that it is stated that every 
person hastened at once on deck, to witness so interest- 
ing a phenomenon. 

To occupy the time which must elapse before the 
ships could be set free from the ice, Parry spent a fort- 
night on a journey into the interior of the island. 
Thirty years afterwards, the tracks of his cart-wheels 
were found by Lieut. M'Clintock, as distinct as though 
they had been made the day before. The ground 
being still deeply covered with snow, the party suffered 
much from snow blindness, but the time of their return 
to Winter Harbor was marked by the rapid progress 
of the thaw. To seaward, the ice was already covered 
with pools of water, while, on shore, the change was 
not less decided, the dreary waste of snow having given 
place, as though by magic, to large patches of an almost 
luxuriant vegetation. 

On the 30th of June, Thomas Scott, one of the "Hec- 
la's" seamen, died. This was the only event of the 
kind which occurred during the absence of the ships 
from England, and the seeds of disease seem to have 
been sown in his constitution for some time past. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. Ill 

" On Sunday, the 2d of July, after Divine service had 
been performed, the body of the deceased was com- 
mitted to the earth, in a level piece of ground about a 
hundred yards from the beach, with every solemnity 
which the occasion demanded, and the circumstances of 
our situation would permit. The ensigns and pendants 
were lowered half mast during the procession, and the 
remains of our unfortunate shipmate were attended to 
the grave by every officer and man of both ships. To 
the performance of this last melancholy duty, under any 
circumstances sufficiently impressive, the peculiarity of 
the scene around us, and of the circumstances in which 
we were placed, could not fail to impart an additional 
feeling of awful solemnity, which it is more easy to 
imagine than to describe. A neat tombstone was after- 
ward placed at the head of the grave by Mr. Fisher, 
who carved upon it the name of deceased, with the other 
usual information." 

It was not till the 1st of August, after more than 
ten dreary months of confinement, that the ice had 
sufficiently loosened to allow the ships to escape from 
Winter Harbor ; and, even then, it was soon evident 
that they had only a very narrow channel through 
which to work their way to the westward, between the 
land and the ice. For some days, they gallantly perse- 
vered in forcing their way through the floes, which 
seemed to increase in thickness as they advanced. 
The ships were often in danger of being crushed to 
atoms. On one occasion, the whole body of ice in the 
neighborhood came violently in contact with the piece 
of a floe close to them. This, at once, split across in 
different directions with a loud crash, and, presently 
afterward, they " saw a part, several hundred tons in 



112 MEMOIRS OF 

weight, raised, slowly and majestically, as if by the 
action of a screw, and deposited on the top of the field, 
presenting towards them the surface which had split, 
and which appeared of a fine blue color, and very solid 
and transparent. This mass of ice was forty-two feet 
in thickness, which will give some idea of the difficul- 
ties of this portion of the voyage, and the dangers to 
which the ships were hourly exposed," Several 
times, all hopes of saving the " Griper" were given up, 
and, once, they were on the point of cutting large 
holes in her decks, in order to allow the casks of pro- 
visions to float up out of *the hold, instead of sinking 
with the ship in deep water. Her ordinary bad sailing 
qualities were now increased tenfold by the large 
" tongues" of ice, which adhered to the hulls of both 
vessels, and which had to be constantly cut away — a 
tedious and most laborious task. All their efforts, 
however, to get beyond the south-west extremity of 
Melville Island, proved unavailing, and, convinced at 
length of the impossibility of obtaining the desired 
object, Parry, after consulting with the other officers 
of the expedition, determined that any further attempt 
to proceed in that direction would be fruitless. 

On the 26th of August, accordingly, the ships' 
heads were turned to the eastward, and they were 
favored with so little interruption from the ice, that in 
six days they had passed through Lancaster Sound. 
They now fell in with some whalers, which, in the 
course of the summer, had actually reached Lancaster 
Sound, which before had always been regarded as in- 
accessible. From these they learned the tidings of the 
death of King George III. and of the Duke of Kent. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 113 

On the 26th. of September, they took their final leave 
of the ice, and on the 30th October Lieut. Parry 
landed at . Peterhead, and, in company with Captain 
Sabine, proceeded without delay to London, to report 
his arrival at the Admiralty. 

" Such was the excellent state of health which we, at 
this time, continued to enjoy, that, during the whole 
season of our late navigation from Winter Harbor to the 
coast of Shetland, being a period of thirteen weeks, not 
a single case has been entered on the sick-list, except 
from one or two accidents of a trifling nature ; and I 
had the happiness of seeing every officer and man on 
board both ships, with only one exception, return to 
their native country in as robust health as when they 
left it, after an absence of nearly eighteen months, dur- 
ing which time we had been living entirely on our own 
resources." 

On his arrival in Scotland, Parry writes : 

"Haddington, Nov. 1, 1820. 
" My Dearest Pareists : I have landed with Sabine, 
am well, and shall be in London about Saturday. The 
mail could not carry our baggage, or I should have pre- 
ferred that conveyance, but I am coming as fast as four 
horses can carry us. We landed at Peterhead, not far 
to the north of Aberdeen. Write to me at the Northum- 
berland Coffee-house, and if it should have pleased God 
(for which I am quite prepared) to make any alteration 
in our family, do not hesitate to mention it at once. 
God's holy will be done! I trust you are well and 
happy, as I am. I shall steal a day or two to see you, 
immediately after the first bustle is over. God bless you ! 
" Ever your affectionate 

"W. E. Parry." 



114 MEMOIRS OF 

The same day that the result of the expedition was 
known at the Admiralty, Parry obtained his promo- 
tion, so long delayed, to the rank of Commander. 

" Admiralty Office, Nov. 4, 1820. 
" Sir : I have this day received, and communicated to 
my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, your letter, 
dated in Davis' Straits, the 5th of September last, and 
forwarded it to England by the ' Lee,' whaler, reporting 
that the ships under your orders had, in the summer of 
1819, succeeded in discovering a passage, through Sir. J. 
Lancaster's Sound, into the Polar Seas ; that they win- 
tered in lat. 74° 47' N\ and long. 110° 47' W., near one 
of a number of islands, which you named the ' North 
Georgian Islands,'* and that not having been able this 
season, from the quantity and magnitude of the ice, to 
penetrate further to the westward than the meridian of 
113° 47' W., nor to find any opening to the southward, 
you had, in concurrence with the unanimous opinion of 
the other principal officers of the expedition, determined 
to return with the ships to England. And I am com- 
manded by their Lordships to express to you their satis- 
faction at your return, and at the extensive addition 
which this voyage has made to the knowledge of the 
Northern regions, and to acquaint you that, in appro- 
bation of your .services, their Lordships have promoted 
you to the rank of Commander. 

" I am, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" John Choker." 



Promotion, however, was not the most gratifying 
suit of his success in the Polar regions : 

* These have since been named the Parry Islands. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 115 

u I know not" (he writes to his father) " where to 
begin, in telling you the congratulations I have received 
from friends and strangers, since my arrival in town. 
"What with visits, and what with letters, I have been 
literally overwhelmed; and I only hope that your poor 
son's head may not be turned, past all remedy, by this 
nattering reception ! Even strangers in the coffee room 
introduce themselves, and beg to shake hands with 
me." 

One of the first honors conferred on him, after his 
return, was the freedom of his native city, which was 
duly presented in an oak box, formed of a piece of the 
" Hecla's" timber. The example of Bath was after- 
wards followed by the corporation of Norwich, and, in 
the spring of the next year, the inhabitants of Bath 
presented him with a valuable piece of plate, as a 
further proof of the "high sense entertained by them 
of the perseverance and skill he had evinced, and 
of the advantages which science, navigation, and com- 
merce might derive from his nautical enterprise and 
discovery." In February, 1821, he was unanimously 
elected a member of the Eoyal Society. " A man," he 
wrote, " of the name of South* was elected at the same 
time, and a punster remarked, that it was extraordinary 
that North and South should meet at the Society in 
one night !" 

At the annual meeting of the Bath and West of 
England Society for the Encouragement of Arts, etc., 
a motion, that Captain Parry should be honored with 
the Society's silver medal, was superseded by an 
amendment, that he should receive, in its stead, the 

* Sir James South, F.R.S. etc. 



116 MEMOIRS OF 

Bedforclean gold medal. The amendment was carried 
unanimously. 

In the midst of all these deserved honors, and while 
the tide of popularity was yet in full flow, Parry was 
still mindful of Him, under whose providential care 
his own exertions had been crowned with so much 
success. On the arrival of the " Hecla" and " Griper" 
in the Thames, a public thanksgiving was offered for 
their safe return, in the Church of St. Mary-le-Strand, 
in consequence of the following letter, addressed by the 
commander of the expedition to the Eev. Mr. Ellis. 

"London, November 10th, 1820. 
" Sir : Myself, the officers, seamen, and marines, who 
have lately been employed in discovery in the Arctic 
regions, are desirous of offering up our public thanks- 
giving to Almighty God for the many, many mercies we 
have received at His hands. I trust you will excuse the 
liberty I have taken, in requesting you will inform me, 
whether you can, with propriety, and without any ap- 
pearance of parade or ostentation on our part, which I 
am particularly anxious, on every account, to avoid, 
perform that office for us at your church on Sunday next. 
" Should there be any objection to this, I trust you 
will believe that I have solicited this favor in perfect 
ignorance whether it be proper or not, and with a 
sincere desire to give the glory where alone the glory 
is due. 

" I must, once more, beg you to pa»don the liberty I 
have now taken, and remain, Sir, 

" With great respect, 
" Your obedient and humble servant, 
" W. E. Parry, 
" Commander of H. M. S. ' Hecla.' » 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 11 7 

The narrative of this voyage to Melville Island 
was published by order of the Admiralty. Previously 
to publication, the whole was revised by his father, 
whose mental activity, in the midst of great bodily 
suffering, was still unimpaired. " No one," it was 
said of this work at the time, " could rise from its 
perusal without being impressed with the fullest con- 
viction that Commander Parry's merits, as an officer 
and scientific navigator, are of the highest order ; that 
his talents are not confined to his professional duties ; 
but that the resources of his mind are equal to the 
most arduous situations, and fertile in expedients under 
every circumstance, however difficult, dangerous, or 
unexpected."* 

In a scientific point of view, the results of this voy- 
age are most important. On the subject of magnetism, 
especially, the observations, constantly and carefully 
registered, were the first which had ever been made so 
near the magnetic pole of the earth. ISTo opportunity 
was ever omitted of gathering information which the 
means at hand could supply, and the exertions of the 
commander were ably seconded by those under him. 
The labors of Captain Sabine, K. A., who accom- 
panied the expedition as astronomer, speak for them- 
selves, being arranged in a valuable appendix to the 
narrative. 

Of his officers and crews Parry had, throughout, but 
one opinion, nor were their feelings towards himself 
less warm. 

" You may imagine" (he writes, just before the ships 
were paid off) " the high gratification I experienced the 

* Quarterly Review, vol. xxv. 



118 MEMOIRS OF 

other day, in being received on board with three hearty 
cheers. It is this which constitutes my truest satisfac- 
tion, not a little enhanced by the happiness of seeing 
them all safe and well at Deptford, among their families 
and friends." 

That these cheers were no empty compliment he 
was soon in a position to prove. He had but to hoist 
his pendant once more, and the first of the eager crowd 
of volunteers who offered themselves were the old sea- 
men of the "Hecla" and " Griper." 



SIB W. E. PARKY. 119 



CHAPTER VI. 

Second Voyage — " Fury" and " Hecla " — John Gordon — Repulse Bay 
— First "Winter at "Winter Island — Esquimaux — Iligliuk — Discovery 
of the Strait of Fury and Hecla — Second "Winter at Igloolik — Return 
to England — Illness — Appointed Hydrographer to the Admiralty. 

Of the actual existence of a North- West Passage it 
was hardly possible to doubt, after the success which 
had attended the voyage recorded in the preceding 
chapter. However, the stubborn barrier of ice to the 
westward of Melville Island, which had checked the 
advance of the "Hecla " and " Griper," seemed to ren- 
der unadvisable any further attempts to force a passage 
in so high a latitude, and Parry's decided opinion was, 
that any future expedition which might be sent out, 
ought to endeavor to skirt along the northern shore of 
the Continent of America. Of this coast, it must be 
borne in mind, that nothing was then known, beyond 
the fact that Hearne and Mackenzie had viewed the 
Polar Sea at the mouths of the Coppermine and Mack- 
enzie rivers. The north-east angle of the great conti- 
nent was, as yet, unknown ; and, in order to reach it, 
a passage would have to be sought through some of 
the channels which existed to the north and north-east 
of Hudson's Bay. Kepulse Bay, at the north extremi- 



120 MEMOIRS OF 

t j of " Sir Thomas Eoe's Welcome," had never been 
fully explored ; and, by many, it was thought not im- 
probable that it might, after all, prove to be not a land- 
locked bay, but a passage leading into the Polar Sea 
beyond. In this direction, therefore, it was proposed 
that the first attempt should be made. 

The " Hecla " and " Griper " were paid off on the 
21st of December, 1820, and, on the 30th of the same 
month, Parry's commission was signed as Commander 
of the u Fury ;" the " Hecla," Commander Lyon, be- 
ing again placed under his orders. The Admiralty 
instructions coincided entirely with his views on the 
subject of the desired passage, being, in fact, founded 
on his own earnest representations. Repulse Bay was 
to be first thoroughly explored, and, failing to find a 
passage in that direction, he was to coast along to 
the northward, examining every creek or inlet that ap- 
peared likely to afford the expected opening to the 
westward. 

" London, January 2, 1821. 

" My Dearest Parents. I commissioned the ' gallant 
Fury bomb' yesterday, and have already been over- 
whelmed with offers of persons to accompany me in all 
kinds of capacities. Two lieutenants are, by my desire, 
appointed to ' Fury,' Nias and Reid, who were both on 
the last expedition, and accompanied me on our journey 
across Melville Island. Lieut. Lyon, who has lately been 
travelling a good deal in Africa, has been induced to ac- 
cept the command of the ' Hecla,' with a promise of in- 
stant promotion to the rank of commander. He is spoken 
of, by all who know him, as an exceedingly clever fellow, 
and his drawings are the most beautiful I ever saw. 
Hooper of course goes with me. I hope Edwards, the 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 121 

surgeon, will go, but I fear he has had enough of it. I 
would give 1001. to have him, and I know, if he would 
go with any one, he would go with me. My number of 
daily visitors is now about doubled, half of them coming 
to talk about the last, and the other half about the next 

expedition 'Fury' came into dock to-day, and 

our men are beginning to find their way back again, be- 
ing very desirous of trying a third trip." 

"While engaged in fitting out his ships, as before, at 
Deptford, he thus alludes to a Sunday spent at Green- 
wich, on a visit to his friend Mr. Charles Martyr, 
of Halifax, of whom mention was made in an earlier 
chapter. 

" I have just returned to town from Greenwich, where 
I have spent a very pleasant day with the Martyrs. We 
went to the chapel of the hospital, which is the most 
beautiful Protestant place of worship I ever saw; anrl its 
beauty is not diminished by the association of ideas, pro- 
duced by looking down from the gallery upon the aged 
heads of more than a thousand British seamen, worn out 
in their country's service, and for whom the gratitude of 
their country has thus nobly provided." 

Before leaving England, he was presented at Court 
by Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty. From 
some cause or other, Parry had thought that his Ma- 
jesty felt little interest on the subject of Arctic discov- 
ery, and was, therefore, agreeably surprised with the 
way in which he was received. 

" The king, whose manner instantly set me at my ease, 
quite as much as if I had been in the presence of any other 
gentleman, said : ' Captain Parry, I congratulate you on 
6 



122 MEMOIRS OF 

your return from your enterprise ; I am sorry I have not 
had an opportunity of seeing you before, but I am happy 
now to add my tribute to that of every body else.' Sa- 
bine came next, and his Majesty was very civil to him 
also. Then came Lyon, as we had ourselves arranged, 
and Lord Melville, who was close by, introduced him as 
' about to accompany Captain Parry.' ' Yes,' said his 
Majesty, ' and to share in his honors !' looking towards 
me as I was sidling off." 

While the ships still remained at Deptford, the 
" Hecla " excited especial interest, for all, of every de- 
gree, were anxious to tread the planks of a vessel which 
had so recently borne the flag of Britain to the un- 
known north, and had braved the rigors of an Arctic 
winter. In order to oblige the numerous applicants 
for admission, and, at the same time, as some acknow- 
ledgment of the flattering reception he had met with 
from the public, Parry determined to give a grand en- 
tertainment on board the " Fury." The idea was 
hailed with glee by all, and Monday, the 17th of April, 
fixed upon for the day. Under the direction of the 
captain himself and his first lieutenant, both of whom 
enjoyed the " spree " fully as much as the youngest on 
board, all hands were set to work, and the ships gayly 
decorated with flags and green branches for the occa- 
sion. It was arranged that the upper deck of the 
" Fury " should be the ball-room, while the hulk, out- 
side of which she lay, was tastefully fitted up as a kind 
of general promenade. The sun shone brightly on the 
assembled guests, and, aided by the enlivening strains 
of the Artillery band, the festivities were prolonged to 
so late an hour, that the moon had already risen 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 123 

on the dancers before the first boat quitted the 
ship. 

On the 27th April, the ships were ready for sea, and 
the wind fair for the Nore ; but it was Friday, and 
Parry, though eager enough to be off, was unwilling 
to cast even the shadow of an evil omen upon his en- 
terprise, by loosing his sails on that day of the week. 
The next morning the wind changed, and, after wait- 
ing in vain two days for it to shift to a favorable quar- 
ter, the ships were towed as far as the Nore, and finally 
left the river on the 8th of May. His forbearance in 
not leaving Deptford on an unlucky day was thus re- 
warded by the curious coincidence, that they bade fare- 
well to the Thames on the same Tuesday of the year 
as that on which they had sailed on the former voy- 
age. " This is pleasing," he writes, " because sailors 
are superstitious, and have a great fancy for lucky days, 
with which I always think it best to comply, if 
possible." 

While the ships were on their way down the river, 
a melancholy accident occurred. John (xordon, one 
of the "Fury's" seamen, had accompanied the former 
expedition, and, during the long winter at Melville 
Island, had derived such benefit from the instruction 
received on board, that, from a reckless, swearing man, 
ne became an altered character. The rest is given in 
Sir E. Parry's own words, in a lecture delivered at 
Southampton the year before his death. 

" I have his fine, tall, powerful figure now before me, 
stalking across the ice, when it was breaking up with vio- 
lence, almost under his feet, with the end of a six- inch 
hawser over one shoulder, and an axe on the other, to 



124 MEMOIRS OF 

make a hole in the ice for an anchor, to secure the ship 
from danger, often requiring unusual activity and nerve. 
In such cases, John Gordon was the man always called 
for, and the man always at hand. The year after our re- 
turn to England, a fresh Arctic Expedition was fitted 
out, under my command, and, to my great satisfaction, 
one of the first men who presented themselves to accom- 
pany me was John Gordon, to whom I gladly gave one 
of the best petty officer's ratings. And I reckoned great- 
ly on the example such a man would set to all of my 
crew. But God, in His mysterious providence, had or- 
dered it otherwise. When the ship had dropped down 
to Gravesend, Gordon was sent in a boat, one morning, 
to lay a kedge anchor. In throwing the anchor out of 
the boat, one of the flukes caught the gunwale, bringing 
it to the water's edge. The tide running very strong, 
Gordon saw that the boat must be swamped, and the 
crew greatly endangered, if the anchor Were not instant- 
ly released. He flew from the stern-sheets past the other 
men, and, by the utmost effort of his own muscular pow- 
er, lifted the anchor clear, just in time to save the boat. 
But, in so doing, he neglected his own personal safety. 
As the anchor ran down, the bight of the hawser got 
round his body, and dragged him out of the boat — and 
we have never seen John Gordon from that moment to 
this ! I can not describe the sensation this melancholy 
catastrophe occasioned in the ship, for Gordon was res- 
pected and beloved by all." 

Owing to contrary winds, it was a considerable time 
before the ships were clear of the Orkneys. 

" However," (Captain Parry writes,) " I do not in the 
least regret our detention, as I am certain we are too 
early for commencing our operations in Hudson's Straits, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 125 

and it gives me an opportunity of confirming the good 
accounts of myself and our ships to a later date. My 
dearest mother anticipated, in one of her letters, our 
having commenced our regular Sunday church-service on 
board the ' Fury.' This was not the case, however, till 
to-day. . . . Nothing can, possibly, be more delightful 
than our little church. We had, while last in England, 
the Morning Hymn and hundreth psalm added to our 
organ, the former to be played at the commencement' of 
the service, the latter at the end of the Litany, which 
adds a good deal to the solemnity of the whole, as does 
also a regular chaplain performing the service in his 
gown."* 

Nothing of consequence occurred during the passage 
across the Atlantic ; the ships, whose sailing qualities 
were well tested in the gales which they encountered, 
were found to be of very equal powers, an advantage- 
fully appreciated by Parry, who, on his two previous 
voyages, had had his patience sorely tried by the slug- 
gish movements of the "Alexander" and "Griper." 
On the 14th June, they fell in with the first iceberg in 
Davis' Straits, about seven degrees to the east of the 
mouth of Hudson's Straits. Here, the " Nautilus " 
transport, which had accompanied them from the Nore, 
was dismissed, bringing home the last dispatches and 
letters. Among the latter was the following from 
Captain Parry to his parents, which, though, in some 
of its expressions, differing materially from what he 
would have written in later life, exhibits a tone of deep 
religious feeling: 

* The Eev. GTeorge Fisher accompanied this expedition, as Chaplain 
and Astronomer. 



126 MEMOIRS OF 

"H. M. 8. '-Fury? off Hudson's Straits. 

"June 22, 1821. 
" My Dearest Parents. The time being near at hand 
when the transport will finally leave us for England, I 
gladly commence my letter, which will probably convey 
to you the last information of our movements which can 
reach you for a long time. I feel in this event, as if a 
second separation were about to take place from those 
most dear to me in the world ; but I also feel that the 
Being, Avho has hitherto kept us, will keep us still, how- 
ever distant we are from each other, and to whatever 
length of time it may please God to continue our separa- 
tion. ... I thank God that I am in excellent health, to 
enable me to perform, by His gracious assistance, the 
duties of the station to which He has called me. I trust 
I am duly thankful for His mercies to me, for the success 
He has granted me, and for any future worldly prospects ; 
but I am much more thankful that I can safely say I never 
felt so strongly the vanity, uncertainty, and comparative 
unimportance of every thing this world can give, and the 
paramount necessity of preparation for another and a 

better life than this My dearest Parents, may 

God, of His infinite mercy, bless, protect, and make you 
happy ! He is my witness, that I would willingly lay 
down the life He has given me to secure your happiness 
or comfort, if these can be expected in this life. Whether 
we are to meet again here, God only knows, but of this 
He has assured us, that we can, by earnestly imploring 
His grace and assistance, and by our own best endeavors, 
secure to ourselves a meeting where shall be joy and 
happiness, without a single drawback, for ever and ever. 
Once more, God bless you ! He who knows the secrets 
of all hearts can alone know the deep and ardent affec- 
tion of your grateful and affectionate son, 

"W. E. Parry." 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 127 

On the second day after parting with the transport, 
the ships entered Hudson's Straits ; but their progress 
was much impeded b y ice and dense mists, which over- 
hung the bleak northern shore, along which they made 
their way. 

"It requires," writes Parry, " a few days to be passed 
amidst scenes of this nature, to erase, in a certain degree, 
the impressions left by more animated landscapes, and 
not till then, perhaps, does the eye become familiarized, 
and the mind reconciled, to prospects of utter barren- 
ness and desolation, such as these rugged shores pre- 
sent." 

They were, at this time, completely beset, and drifted 
about at random with the tides ; while the swell of the 
Atlantic, setting down the strait, every now and then 
separated the masses sufficiently to dash the ships 
against the ice alongside, with a force that no vessel 
strengthened in the ordinary way could have withstood. 
As they worked their way slowly to the westward, 
they fell in with a tribe of Esquimaux, whose rude 
manners strongly contrasted with those of any they 
had before seen, and whose filthy customs disgusted all 
on board. 

" On the whole," (Parry says,) " it is impossible for us 
not to receive a very unfavorable impression of the gene- 
ral behavior, and moral character, of the natives of this 
part of Hudson's Strait, who seem to have acquired, by 
an annual intercourse with our ships for nearly a hundred 
years, many of the vices, which, unhappily, attend a first 
intercourse with the civilized world, without having im- 
bibed any of the virtues or refinements which adorn or 
render it happy." 



128 MEMOIES OF 

The difficult navigation of Hudson's Strait occupied 
a whole month, for it was not until August 2d that 
they reached the north-east corner of Southampton 
Island. Of the existence of a passage to the north of 
this island many doubts had been raised. Eighty 
years before, the name of " Frozen Strait " had been 
laid down in the charts, upon the authority of Captain 
Middleton, but some at home had impugned his honesty, 
and boldly asserted that this strait was a chimera of 
his own imagination. Such being the case, it rested 
now with Parry to choose between Middleton and his 
accusers ; in other words, to decide whether he should 
at once assume the strait in question to be a reality, or 
take the more certain but circuitous course round the 
south of Southampton Island, by which the distance to 
be traversed before reaching Eepulse Bay would be in- 
creased to nearly 150 leagues. After the most anxious 
consideration, he determined to pursue the bolder 
course of attempting the direct passage of the- Frozen 
Strait ; " though," he confessed, " not without some 
apprehension of the risk he was incurring, and of the 
serious loss of time, which, in case of failure, either from 
the non-existence of the strait, or from the insuperable 
obstacles which its. name implied, would thus be in- 
evitably occasioned to the expedition." The result 
proved that he was right in preferring the ocular tes- 
timony of his predecessor to the* speculations of his ac- 
cusers. The Frozen Strait, which Middleton had seen, 
but not attempted, was found to exist, and to be by no 
means unworthy of its disagreeable name. Slowly, 
but surely, the discovery ships made their way through 
the floes and hummocks, rendered more dangerous by 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 129 

the prevailing fogs. The only discovery worthy of 
mention, was a magnificent bay, free from ice, and 
"possessing many advantages that would have ren- 
dered it invaluable in a more temperate clime." This 
was named after the Duke of York, having been en- 
tered on the birth-day of his Eoyal Highness. Leav- 
ing this inviting spot, they continued their course as 
before, until, the weather suddenly clearing up, they 
found a continuous shore immediately ahead. They 
had, in fact, without being aware of it, actually entered 
Kepulse Bay. A boat was at once detached from the 
" Hecla "• to row round the further extremity, where 
alone, from the overlapping of one or two headlands, 
the smallest hope of a passage could exist. The party 
soon returned, and reported that Repulse Bay was true 
to its name, so that all conjecture on that subject was 
now set at rest forever. 

The first problem of the voyage being thus solved, 
the grand object still remained, namely, to " get hold " 
(as Parry expressed himself) " of the north-east corner 
of America." Thus much, however, had been gained, 
that they had at last "got hold" of the continent itself, 
and the ships, accordingly, repassed the mouth of the 
bay, and proceeded northwards. But they were not 
yet clear of the strait of ill-omened name. " The ob- 
structions and difficulties to be encountered were as 
little known as the geography of this part of the coast 
of America, along the line of which Captain Parry was 
directed to keep, in proceeding to the northward, and 
to examine every creek and inlet, which might afford 
a practicable passage to the westward. In fulfilling 
this part of his instructions, never, since the voyages 
6* 



130 MEMOIRS OF 

of Vancouver along the north-west coast of America, 
was a line of unknown coast explored with more inde- 
fatigable zeal and perseverence, or with more minute- 
ness, under the most appalling difficulties."* The 
tides now encountered were so strong, and the ice-laden 
eddies so violent, that the ships were sometimes com- 
pletely turned round, to the imminent risk of the rud- 
ders, and, indeed, the whole framework of the vessels. 
But this was not all ; for, after having, with infinite 
labor, advanced some distance to the north, through 
the labyrinth of ice, the floe to which they were attached 
drifted southwards, and actually carried them back to 
the same spot where they had been a month before. 
Under these vexatious circumstances, 

"To consider" (Parry writes) "what might have been 
effected in this interval, (which included the very best 
part of the navigable season,) had we been previously 
aware of the position and extent of the American Con- 
tinent, about this meridian, is, in itself, certainly unavail- 
ing, but it serves to show the value of even the smallest 
geographical information, in seas where not an hour must 
be thrown away, or unprofitably employed. Nor could 
we help fancying, that had Bylot, Fox, and Middleton, 
by their joint exertions, succeeded in satisfactorily deter- 
mining, thus far, the extent of the continent of land, the 
time, which we had lately occupied in this manner, might 
have been more advantageously employed in rounding, 
by a more direct route, the north-east point of America, 
and even in pursuing our way along its northern shores." 

Till the end of September, the whole time was spent 
in the examination of several deep creeks on the coast. 

* Quarterly Review, vol. xxx. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 13i 

la this difficult and tedious task the commander set a 
worthy example to all. On one occasion, he was absent 
from the ships eight — on another, nine days and nights, 
and the extent of coast actually discovered, and laid 
down on the charts, amounted to two hundred leagues. 
The following, from the pen of one of the "Fury's " 
officers, testifies to his cheerful endurance on these 
trying expeditions, as well as to the affectionate anxiety 
for his personal safety, felt by those under his com- 
mand: 

"September, 1821. 

" Captain Parry determined, the moment we could get 
the ship out of her present situation, to proceed once more 
in the boats, and examine the coast to the southward , 
until he should reach Gore Bay ; directing that the ships 
should follow in that direction, whenever the ice permit- 
ted. A boat from each ship having been prepared, with 
eight days' provisions, Captain Parry, accompanied again 
by Mr. Ross and Mr. Sherer, in the ' Hecla's ' boat, with 
Mr. M'Laren, assistant surgeon of the c Hecla,' left us at 
four o'clock, on the 14th September, to pursue his exam- 
ination. 

" On the morning of the 21st, the ships were got under 
way, and all sail made to the southward, keeping as close 
to the western, or right hand shore of the inlets, as possi- 
ble, in order to avoid missing the boats, should they be 
on the return. On the morning of the 2 2d, the wind 
came from the northward, and gradually freshened to a 
stiff breeze, continuing throughout the day, with occa- 
sional showers of sleet and snow. In the evening the 
weather became more inclement, and a very heavy fall 
of snow added considerably to the anxiety we began to 
feel on account of Captain Parry and his party who 



132 MEMOIRS OP 

were victualled for eight days, and had been absent 
seven. 

"The whole of the 23d passed without any sign or 
appearance of the boats, and (though I felt sure Captain 
Parry had not neglected such precautionary measures as 
would enable him to extend his resources for a day or 
two) the idea of their being reduced to the necessity of 
even a short allowance of provisions in such a climate, at 
this season, exposed, as they were, to all its inclemencies, 
was sufficient to excite all our commiseration and sym- 
pathy, independently of the more fearful consideration, 
that some serious disaster might be the cause of their 
delay. With these feelings, we were delighted to hear 
that Captain Lyon intended to. get under way at daylight, 
and run to the southward to look for them. The wea- 
ther moderated in the course of the day, and the wind 
became light, and drew round to the westward. At day- 
light on the 24th, the ships' anchors were weighed, and 
all sail made along to the land to the southward. We 
had not gained above six or eight miles, when the wind 
became directly contrary, and when the night closed in, 
without any appearance of the boats, our anxiety was in- 
creased to a most alarming degree. A large body of ice 
had been observed to the southward the whole day, and 
we became apprehensive that this might cut them off, 
and would equally prevent our approach to them. A 
thousand fearful consequences of such, or other similar 
disasters were haunting our imaginations, when, at 7.50 
P.M. the flash of a musket was observed at some distance 
from us. A blue light was immediately burned from the 
ships, lights hoisted, and muskets flashed, and, in a few 
minutes, we had the happiness to be fully assured of its 
being our boats returning, by their burning a port-fire. 
It is necessary to be placed in a similar state of anxiety, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 133 

to understand the joy which diffused itself over every 
countenance, and which was still heightened, when, at 9 
o'clock, Captain Parry and all his people got on board 
the ships, in excellent health, without having suffered a 
want, privation, or inconvenience of any kind. The ob- 
struction they had met from ice had been the cause of fre- 
quent delays, and they had, on this morning, been obliged 
to carry their boats for a mile and a half on land, before 
they could proceed ; but, at the first detention, Captain 
Parry reduced the allowance of bread, etc., and, as they 
had been fortunate in procuring two rein-deer, besides 
hares and grouse, there was no lack of provision, and they 
had sufficient for two days, besides the venison, now re- 
maining." 

The season was now fast drawing to a close ; the 
rain froze as it fell, rendering the decks and ropes as 
smooth and slippery as glass, while the increasing dark- 
ness, added to the rapid formation of the young ice, 
gave too evident notice that winter was close at hand. 
Accordingly, a convenient bay in a small island, off 
the entrance of Lyon inlet, was selected for winter 
quarters. On the 8th of October, the ships were moved 
into their places, through a canal cut for the purpose, 
and, in a few hours, firmly frozen in. 

An Arctic winter was, by this time, no novelty to the 
crews of the "Fury" and "Hecla," and the experience 
of Winter Harbor had taught Captain Parry the best 
means to be employed, for the preservation of health 
and comfort. The theatre, from which so much amuse- 
ment had been before derived, was now " rigged out " 
afresh, on a grander and more commodious scale, with 
its decorations much increased ; while the improved 



134 MEMOIRS OF 

mode of warming the ships, by means of Sylvester's 
stoves, prevented the inconvenience they had before 
experienced from the cold. 

"It must not be supposed" (writes one of the officers) 
" that the pleasure afforded by these exhibitions arose 
from the great merit of the performers, and the excel- 
lence* of the acting. The audience were a class ready to 
be amused by any novelty, and, in an especial manner, to 
be gratified by seeing the officers, to whom they were in 
the habit of looking up with respect and obedience, vo- 
luntarily exerting themselves for their sole amusement. 
The exertion was not made in vain; the men were amused, 
and to their hearts' content. It is impossible to witness 
such a scene, without being impressed with a full convic- 
tion of its value, and without expressing a hope, that no- 
thing might deprive the men of this occasional relief from 
ennui, the natural and baneful attendant on an uninformed 
mind, during the long and tedious winter." 

Of one play, "The Poor Gentleman," acted on the 
17th of December, Parry observes, that " it was per- 
formed by the officers in so admirable and feeling a 
manner, as to excite uncommon interest among the 
men, and to convince him, more than ever, of the util- 
ity of their theatrical amusements." These entertain- 
ments were occasionally varied by the exhibition of an 
excellent magic lantern, presented to the commander, 
for the use of the expedition, by a lady, who persisted 
in keeping her name a secret from those whom she was 
thus serving. On other evenings, Parry, who had no 
notion of being idle himself, or of allowing others to be 
so, succeeded in mustering, alternately in his own cabin, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 135 

and iii that of Captain Lyon, a very respectable orches- 
tra, in which his own violin took not the least conspi- 
cuous part. On these occasions, the doors of the cabin 
were thrown open, that the ship's company outside 
might enjoy the music. 

" More skillful amateurs " (says Parry) " might have 
smiled at these, our humble concerts ; but it will not in- 
cline them to think less of the science they admire, to 
be assured, that, in these remote and desolate regions of 
the globe, it has often furnished us with the most pleasur- 
able sensations which our situation was capable of afford- 
ing. Independently of the mere gratification to the ear, 
there is, perhaps, scarcely a person in the world really 
fond of music, in whose mind its sound is not, more or 
less, connected with his far distant home." 

For a couple of hours, during those evenings which 
were not thus occupied, a school for teaching the men 
reading and writing was established on the lower deck 
of each of the ships, that in the " Fury" under the su- 
perintendence of the purser ; Mr. Hooper. Attendance 
was quite voluntary, but so good a use was made by 
the seamen of the advantages thus afforded, that, when 
the expedition returned to England, there was not a 
man on board who could not read his Bible. 

In the midst of these occupations, the shortest day 
passed over their heads, without any of the interest 
which it had excited on a former occasion. 

" In fact," as Parry observes, " our winter was no longer 
an experiment ; our comforts were greatly increased, and 
the prospect of an early release from the ice as favorable 
as could be desired. In short, what with reading, writ- 



136 MEMOIRS OF 

ing, making and calculating observations, observing the 
various natural phenomena, and taking the exercise ne- 
cessary to preserve health, nobody felt any symptoms of 
ennui, during our imprisonment in winter quarters." 

With one exception, the health of the crews conti- 
nued excellent. Scurvy, the great enemy of the polar 
voyager, was kept at a distance by the use of antiscor- 
butics, liberally supplied to the expedition. To these 
was added a regular growth of mustard and cress, in 
boxes filled with mould, which, owing to the superior 
warmth of the ships, was now carried on on a larger 
scale than before. An amusing incident is connected 
with the preservation, during the voyage out, of the 
mould in which these vegetables were grown. While 
the ships were detained at Kirkwall, a boat came off 
to the " Fury" with some sacks full of earth, which 
the ship's carpenter, (an Aberdeen man, who had for- 
merly belonged to • the merchant service,) was ordered 
to stow away below. At this he ventured somewhat 
to grumble, and to question the utility of the article in 

question. " Never mind !" says his mate, John P , 

from whom the account comes, " never mind ! Depend 
on it, the Captain has something in his head, and 
it'll be all right !" The obnoxious sacks were, accord- 
ingly, stowed away, but, during the voyage across the 
Atlantic, they proved too much for the carpenter's 

patience, and, at length, he ordered P to throw 

the lumber overboard, as a mere fancy on the part of 

the Captain, no longer remembered. P shook his 

head, but his superior was determined, and away went 
the bags, not, however, into the sea, but, at all events, 
out of sight. Days and months passed, and the affair 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 137 

was forgotten. Winter Island was reached, and the 
ships were frozen in. One day, an order was given to 
the carpenter to provide some long shallow boxes. 
This done — " Now, then, my man," says the Captain, 
"for those sacks of earth !" Down comes the unfor- 
tunate carpenter to his mate, in a state of ludicrous 

perplexity : " Eh ! P , but what will we do, man ? 

Here's the skipper singing out for the sacks we heaved 

overboard !" " We, indeed !" says P , "but, never 

mind, it's all right ; they never went overboard at all !" 
and, doubtless, many of his messmates had cause, at 
Winter Island, to be grateful to him that it was all 
right. 

Christmas-day was now past, and the new year had 
already commenced, when a circumstance unexpectedly 
occurred, which served still further to while away the 
tedium of the yet remaining months of imprisonment, 
and gave, moreover, to this second voyage a charac- 
ter of its own. On the 1st of February, the look-out 
on board the " Hecla" reported that a party of strange 
people were advancing over the ice towards the ship, 
from the westward. The glass being directed towards 
them, they were found to be Esquimaux, and some 
appearance of huts, at a distance of about two miles in 
the same direction, was then, for the first time, disco- 
vered. Parry, with two or three officers, and a few' 
men, at once set out to meet their unexpected visitors, 
with whom they were, shortly, on most intimate terms. 
Nothing could exceed their orderly and quiet behavior, 
contrasting strongly with their brethren of Hudson's 
Strait. They appeared, at a distance, to have arms in 
their hands, but these proved, on nearer inspection, to 
be a few blades of whalebone, intended as a peace- 



138 MEMOIRS OF 

offering, or for barter. Some of the women of the 
party, whose handsome clothes of deerskin attracted 
the notice of the officers, began, to the astonishment 
of the latter, to strip, for the purpose of selling their 
garments, though the thermometer was at 23° below 
zero. It soon appeared, however, that there was no- 
thing very dreadful in the matter, as each had a com- 
plete double suit. Parry now expressed, by signs, his 
wish to accompany them to their huts, with which re- 
quest they willingly complied, some going on before to 
fasten up the dogs, lest they should run away at the 
sight of so many strange faces. The Esquimaux vil- 
lage, if it may be so called, consisted of five huts, with 
a complete establishment of canoes, sledges, and dogs, 
and about sixty men, women, and children, seemingly 
as settled as if they had been there for month's. It 
puzzled Parry, not a little, to divine how they had es- 
caped notice on board the ships, where so many eyes 
were continually on the look-out for any thing that 
could afford variety or interest. But the problem was 
solved some days after, when, having requested their 
newly -made friends to go through the process of build- 
ing a hut, it was accomplished so speedily, as to show 
that a very few hours would suffice to complete the 
whole village as it stood. ' The party now entered one 
of the huts, all of which were formed entirely of snow 
and ice. After creeping through two low passages, 
having each its arched doorway, they found themselves 
in a small circular apartment, of which the roof was a 
perfect arched dome. From this room three doorways 
led to as many others of a similar form, lighted by 
round windows of ice, neatly fitted into the roof. The 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 139 

women were seated on their beds of skins, each with 
her little fireplace or lamp, and surrounded bj her do- 
mestic utensils, while the children crept behind their 
mothers, alarmed at the sound of unknown voices, and 
the sight of so many strangers. 

The respectful and good-humored behavior of these 
poor people made a favorable impression on their guests, 
which was not lessened during the almost daily inter- 
course which now ensued. With one or two excep- 
tions, their honesty was always strikingly displayed. 
If a glove or handkerchief were dropped, or left be- 
hind in the huts, they would restore it to the owner, 
often taking the trouble to travel to the ships for the 
purpose. On one occasion, some of the " Hecla's " 
officers bought two dogs, which made their escape to 
their old quarters. The next day, after the departure 
of the Esquimaux from the ships, it was found that 
they had left the same animals carefully tied up on 
board. Their integrity will appear the more remark- 
able, when we consider that nearly all the articles, even 
those of trifling value, which met their eyes, were as 
much prized by them, as gold or jewels would have 
been by civilized people. Their delight in music was 
unbounded, and the fiddle on board the " Hecla," as 
well as the organ, were endless sources of amusement. 
One day, Parry paid a visit to the huts, and prevailed 
on one of the women to sing him a song, which she 
willingly did, and displayed a remarkably soft voice, 
and an excellent ear. Her name was Iligliuk, and, 
almost every day, she showed some fresh symptom of 
the superiority of understanding, for which she was so 
remarkably distinguished. While the majority of her 



140 MEMOIKS OF 

countrymen would stand stupidly at the armorer's 
forge, caring only to have some spear-heads fashioned 
by his means, Iligliuk would watch every stroke of the 
hammer, and each blast of the bellows, showing plainly 
that her attention was occupied with the utility and 
apparent simplicity of the process. The following 
anecdote, related by Parry, displays a pleasing trait of 
her character. 

" She had promised to cover for me a little model of a 
canoe, and had, in fact, sent it to me by the serjeant of 
marines, though I had not rightly understood from the 
latter from which of the women it came. Believing that 
she had failed in her promise, I taxed her with it, when 
she immediately defended herself with considerable 
warmth and seriousness, but without making me compre- 
hend her meaning. Finding that she was wasting her words 
upon me, she said no more till an hour afterwards, when, 
the serjeant accidentally coming into the cabin, she, with 
the utmost composure, but with a decision of manner, 
peculiar to herself, took hold of his arm to engage his 
attention, and then, looking him steadfastly in the face, 
accused him of not having faithfully executed her com- 
mission to me. The mistake was thus instantly explained, 
and I thanked Iligliuk for her canoe ; but it is impossible 
for me to describe the quiet yet proud satisfaction dis- 
played in her countenance, at having thus cleared herself 
from the imputation of a breach of promise." 

It occurred to Parry, that the superior intelligence 
of this Esquimaux woman might be advantageously 
employed, for the purpose of communicating some 
knowledge of the geographical outline of the coast, 
along which they were to make their way, when the 



SIR W. E. PAEKY. 141 

ice broke up. The first attempt of the kind was made 
by placing several sheets of paper before her, and 
roughly drawing, on a large scale, an outline of the 
land about Kepulse Bay, and "Winter Island. This 
being done, the pencil was placed in her hand, and she, 
soon comprehending the nature of her task, continued 
the outline, naming the principal places as she pro- 
ceeded. The scale being large, it was necessary, as 
she arrived at the end of one piece of paper, to tack on 
another, until she had, at length, filled a dozen sheets, 
and had completely lost sight of Winter Island at the 
other end of the table. Her ready comprehension in- 
duced Parry to try again on a smaller scale, and this 
succeeded better. As she traced the windings of the 
coast to the northward of their present quarters, 

" It would have amused an unconcerned looker-on," 
Parry writes, "to have observed the anxiety and suspense 
depicted on the countenances of our part of the group, 
till this was accomplished, for never were the tracings of 
a pencil watched with more eager solicitude. Our sur- 
prise and satisfaction may, therefore, in some degree, be 
imagined, when, without taking it from the paper, Iligliuk 
brought the continental coast short round to the west- 
ward, and afterwards to the S. S. W., so as to come 
within three or four days' journey of Repulse Bay. . . . 
Being desirous of seeing whether she would interfere 
with Wager River, as we knew it to exist, I requested 
her to continue the coast line to the south, when she im 
mediately dropped the pencil, and said she knew no more 
about it." 

The north-east point of America was, in fact, found 
afterwards to be where Iligliuk had represented it. 



142 MEMOIRS OF 

Meanwhile, the spirits of all concerned in the expedi- 
tion were raised, by the expectation of finding the 
desired passage at so short a distance to the north of 
Winter Island. 

Iligliuk had, however, her failings, and the chief of 
these was vanity — a feeling which, as maj be supposed, 
was not a little increased by the attentions she received 
from her European friends. The fact is, that, before 
the time came for the Esquimaux to leave Wintei 
Island, she was quite spoiled. Parry remarks of her . 

" I am compelled to acknowledge that, in proportion 
as the superior understanding of this extraordinary wo- 
man became more and more developed, her head (for 
what female head is indifferent to praise ?) began to be 
turned with the general attention and numberless pre- 
sents she received. The superior decency, and even 
modesty, of her behavior had combined with her intel- 
lectual qualities to raise her, in our estimation, far above 
her companions ; and I often heard others express, what 
I could not but agree in, that for Iligliuk alone, of all the 
Esquimaux women, that kind of respect could be enter- 
tained, which modesty in a woman never fails to com- 
mand in our sex. Thus regarded, she had been always 
freely admitted into the ships, the quarter-masters at the 
gangway never thinking of refusing entrance to the 
' wise woman,' as they called her. Whenever any expla- 
nation was necessary between the Esquimaux and us, 
Iligliuk was sent for as an interpreter, and she thus found 
herself rising into a degree of consequence to which, but 
for us, she could never have attained. Notwithstanding 
a more than ordinary share of good sense on her part, it 
will not, therefore, be wondered at, that she became gid- 
dy with her exaltation. In short, Iligliuk in February, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 143 

and Iligiiuk in April, were, confessedly, very different 
persons, and it was at last amusing to recollect, though 
not very easy to persuade one's self, that the woman who 
now sat demurely in a chair, so confidently expecting the 
notice of those around her, and she who had at first, with 
eager and wild delight, assisted in cutting snow for the 
building of a hut, with the hope of obtaining a single 
needle, were actually one and the same individual." 

The end of May had now arrived, but there was, as 
yet, no prospect of release for the ships. On shore, 
vegetation seemed laboring to commence, but the 
snow still lay thickly in most parts, while, to seaward, 
appearances were even less promising. During their 
former winter at Melville Island, there had been, 
before this period of the season, several hours of hard 
rain, changing the white surface of the ice to a greenish 
color, and aiding most effectually in its dissolution. 
The Esquimaux were, however, now about to leave the 
ships, and to migrate to their summer place of resi- 
dence to the northward. They had, throughout, been 
treated with great kindness, and, on more than one 
occasion, when the seal-hunters had returned empty- 
handed for days together, the whole party had been 
saved from actual starvation by supplies of biscuit- 
dust from the ships. In their barterings they had 
showed, from the first, a childlike simplicity in their 
willingness to part with their most valuable posses- 
sions, but Parry had taken good care that they should 
be no losers in the end, and now, at the final leave- 
taking, he presented them with several valuable gifts. 
The immediate results of so sudden an influx of wealth 
seemed likely to be serious, especially to the women, 



144 MEMOIRS OF 

whose joy sent them into hysterical fits of immoderate 
laughter, succeeded by floods of tears. As they moved 
off with their sledges, drawn by themselves, for want 
of a sufficient number of dogs, these light-hearted 
people greeted their benefactors with three cheers, in 
the true Kabloona (English) style. They were soon 
out of sight, and the voyagers were once more alone. 

At length, on the 2d July, after having nearly 
completed the ninth month at Winter Island, the 
ships, partly by means of channels laboriously cut 
through the ice, and partly by the action of the wind 
drifting the heavy ice from the land, finally effected 
their escape, and stood to the north, up Fox Channel. 
On one side, the shore was completely lined with ice, 
while, on the other, huge floes were drifting rapidly 
about with wind and tide, leaving a channel of a few 
hundred yards in width, which, however, was often 
quite blocked up. Once, the ships were swept against 
each other, and, after some grinding and squeezing, 
they considered themselves fortunate in escaping with 
the loss of one of the "Hecla's" boats, which was 
torn in pieces by the "Fury's" anchor. On another 
occasion, the friction of the "Hecla's" hawsers was so 
great, as nearly to cut through the bittheads, and, 
ultimately, to set them on fire, so that it was necessary 
for men to stand by with buckets of water. The 
pressure, at the same time, made her heel over con- 
siderably, and lifted her stern up, as with a wedge, 
several feet above the water. As she righted, the 
rudder was unhung with a sudden jerk, and the ship 
drove several miles to the south, before it could be 
again secured. To these dangers was added the con- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 145 

stant fear of again being beset, or drifted back as 
before, undoing the labor of weeks. This mortifica- 
tion, however, they were spared. On the 12th of 
July, the examination of a wide opening in the shore 
led to the discovery of a large fresh-water river, its 
deep banks richly clothed with vegetation, and form- 
ing, in one place, a magnificent cataract upwards of a 
hundred feet in height, which was honored with the 
name of the Secretary of the Admiralty. After leav- 
ing Barrow Kiver, they were favored with an uninter- 
rupted run of fifty miles, no unimportant event in this 
tedious and ■ uncertain navigation. Here, the large 
herds of walruses, which lay huddled together on the 
loose pieces of field-ice, confirmed them in their belief, 
that they were now approaching Igloolik, the country 
of Iligliuk and her companions. The passage to the 
westward, of which she had given promise, could 
not be far off; and, accordingly, on the next day, 
they found themselves off a wider opening than any 
they had yet discovered. Their vexation may be 
discovered, when, instead of a navigable channel, one 
unbroken sheet of ice, stretching from shore to shore, 
met their expectant eyes. For nearly a month, they 
were thus stopped at the very threshold of the North- 
West Passage. During this period, repeated excur- 
sions were made on foot, to explore the shores of the 
strait of which they had so long been in search, and 
the first actual sight of which Parry thus describes : 

"At half-past five, on the morning of the 18th August, 
we arrived at a peninsula which promised to prove of 
high interest, for it appeared to lead to the very spot, 
where, from the set of the tide and the trending of the 

1 



146 MEMOIRS OF 

coast, the strait was most likely to be found : and it 
presented, at the same time, a geological character dif- 
fering from any we had before met with. We now 
turned nearly due north, and, after passing over a mile 
and a half of rocky country, we arrived, at about 7 A.M., 
at the ultimate object of our journey, the extreme 
northern point of the peninsula, overlooking the nar- 
rowest part of the desired strait, which lay immediately 
below us, two miles in width, and apparently very deep. 
Beyond us to the west, the shores again separated to the 
distance of several leagues, and, for more than three 
points of the compass, in that direction, no land could be 
seen to the utmost limits of a clear horizon, except one 
island, six or seven miles distant. Over this we could 
not entertain a doubt of having discovered the Polar 
Sea, and, loaded as it was with ice, we already felt as if 
we were on the point of forcing our way through it, 
along the northern shores of America. 

" After dispatching one of our party to the foot of 
the point for some of the sea-water, which was found 
extremely salt to the taste, we hailed the interesting 
event of the morning by three hearty cheers, and by 
a small extra allowance of grog to our people, to drink 
a safe and speedy passage through the channel just 
discovered, which I ventured to name, by anticipation, 
The Strait of the Fury and Hecla. Having built 
a pile of stones at the promontory which, from its situa- 
tion with respect to the continent of America, I called 
Cape ISTorth-East, we walked back to our tent and bag- 
gage, these having, for the sake of greater expedition, 
been left two miles behind, and, after resting a few hours, 
set out on our return." 

A light easterly breeze at length enabled the ships 
to struggle through the newly-discovered strait for 



SIR W. E. PARRY. Il7 

some distance. The main body of the ice was, how- 
ever, almost as firm and impracticable as ever, while 
the "young ice," the certain herald of winter, was 
already forming on the little open water that re- 
mained, and was hourly engaged in connecting afresh 
the masses, whose partial disruption had vainly raised 
their hopes. A few days more decided the matter. 
So rapidly, in fact, was the season closing in, that it 
was for some time doubtful, first of all, whether the 
ships would be able to retrace their course, and get 
free of the strait again, and then, whether they could 
escape being frozen up at sea. At length, after beat- 
ing about, among the floating ice, for many stormy 
days, and losing several anchors, they were, finally, on 
the last day of October, hauled into their second 
winter quarters, at the island of Igloolik. Here they 
found themselves again among the Esquimaux, among 
whom they recognized the familiar faces of some of 
their former friends. One of these, whom the sailors 
had christened "John Bull," was so overjoyed at 
meeting the friendly "Kabloonas" once more, that he 
actually sent, by one of the sailors, a piece of seal-skin, 
as a present to " Paree," being the first offering of real 
gratitude, without expectation of a return, which he 
had ever received from these people. 

In this good company the dreary winter was passed 
as cheerfully as the somewhat gloomy prospects of the 
expedition would permit. As to their operations dur- 
ing the coming year, Parry was in great perplexity, 
but his doubts, at length, resolved themselves into a 
definite scheme of a daring and hazardous nature. 
This was to send the "Hecla" home/and, taking from 



148 MEMOIRS OF 

her stores a year's provisions, to continue his voyage 
alone in the "Fury." For the greater part of the 
winter, he kept his plan to himself, and when, at 
length, he made it known, not a murmur was heard 
from any one of the gallant crews he commanded. 
Each was willing to return, or to remain, as his com- 
mander should decide. In a long letter to his parents, 
written at this time, to be transmitted to them by 
Captain Lyon, he thus expresses in simple yet manly 
terms, his determination not to relinquish the main 
object of his voyage without one more struggle, and 
breathes the spirit of that calm reliance on a higher 
power, in which his resolution had been taken. 

" I, yesterday, communicated to all in both ships the 
determination to which I had long ago come, of sending 
the 'Hecla' to England, and continuing our eiforts hi 
the 'Fury' singly. Nothing can exceed the lively and 
animated bustle now going on in our little colony, and it 
is a source of very great gratification to me, at this par- 
ticular period, to see the good health generally enjoyed 
by us. May God continue to us His all-merciful guid- 
ance and protection ; and I can not despair of still, ulti- 
mately, effecting our object. I am determined, however, 
with the continued 'assistance of Providence, to show 
that perseverance has not been wanting in this enter- 
prise, and no consideration shall induce me to relinquish 
it, while a reasonable hope of success remains. What- 
ever the event may be, our efforts shall be worthy of our 
country, and our return, I trust, at least not inglorious. 
What the issue is to be, is in much better hands than 
ours to determine. . . . The 'Hecla' will tell you our 
story as far as it goes. For the concluding part of the 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 149 

tale, which is 'in the womb of time,' our dear friends in 
England must patiently wait for the next post, which I 
trust may he via Kamschatka. They will not fail to 
feel comfort in knowing that we are ever under the 
guidance of Him, ' who is about our path, and about our 
bed, and spieth out all our ways.' " 

Probably, had this intention been carried out, the 
fate of the " Erebus" and "Terror" might have been 
forstalled by that of the " Fury." Only a few days, 
however, before the liberation of the ships, a circum- 
stance occurred, which effected a total change in his 
views. The scurvy, which had hitherto been un- 
known, save in a few cases among the officers, whose 
sedentary pursuits rendered them less generally atten- 
tive to habits of regular exercise, now made its un- 
welcome appearance most unequivocally among the 
men. The surgeon was consulted, and his opinion 
being, decidedly, against the wisdom of keeping either 
of the ships out a third winter, Parry's better judg- 
ment prevailed over his zeal in the cause of discovery, 
and, with a passing sigh for the Polar Sea, which lay 
at the western gates of his newly-discovered strait, he 
resolved to make the best of his way home, in com- 
pany with, the " Hecla." He, was further confirmed 
in this change of determination by a last sight he took 
of the strait, where Hie barrier of ice remained as 
firmly, and apparently as hopelessly, fixed as ever. 
The unexampled lateness of the season also convinced 
him of the little progress he could hope to make in an 
onward direction during the coming summer. As it 
was, it was not until the end of the second week in 
August that the ships were finally released, and, even 



150 MEJIOIKS OF 

then, the singular mode of their progress southward, 
from Igloolik to their old winter quarters at Winter 
Island, proved how little could have been effected in 
contrary direction. The wind failing, and the ice 
closing in around them, they were, without the small- 
est possibility of exertion on their own part, drifted at 
random down Fox Channel, now driven among shoals, 
with only a few inches of water to spare, now whirl- 
ins; round a headland, at the rate of two or three 
knots an hour. Nor was this all. The season was so 
far advanced, that, at one time, it seemed by no means 
improbable, that, though on their way home, they 
might be detained for a third winter in the ice, almost 
within sight of open water. At length, Hudson's 
Straits were passed, and they bade farewell to the last 
iceberg in Davis' Strait. 

" It can scarcely be imagined," (Parry wrote, on their 
homeward voyage across the Atlantic,) " by those who 
have not been similarly situated, with what eager interest 
one or two vessels were, this day, descried by us, being 
the first trace of civilized man that we had seen for the 
space of twenty-seven months." 

On their arrival at Lerwick, they were warmly 
greeted by the inhabitants, eager to welcome them 
back to their native country. 

" I feel it impossible," (he continues,) " adequately to 
express the kindness and attention we received, for the 
three or four days that we were detained in Bressay 
Sound by contrary winds. On the first intimation of 
our arrival, the bells of Lerwick were set ringing, the 
inhabitants flocked, from every part of the country, to 



SIR AV. E. PARRY. 151 

express their joy at our return, and the town was illu- 
minated at night, as if each individual had a brother or 
son among us. On the 12th of October, being Sunday, 
the officers and men of both ships attended Divine 
service on shore, when the worthy minister, the Rev. 
Mr. Menzies, who was before well known to many of us, 
offered up, in the most solemn and impressive manner, a 
thanksgiving for our safe return, at the same time calling 
upon us, with great earnestness, never to forget what we 
owed to Him, ' who had been about our path and about 
our bed.' The peculiarity of the circumstances under 
which we joined the congregation, the warmth of feeling 
exhibited by every person assembled within the sacred 
walls, together with the affectionate energy of the 
preacher, combined to produce an effect, of which words 
can convey but little idea, but which will not, easily, be 
effaced from the minds of those present on this affecting 
occasion." 

The joy of his return to his native shores was, this 
time, saddened by a severe though not unexpected 
blow. The first letters, which, as usual, awaited him 
at the Scottish ports, conveyed the intelligence of the 
death of his father, whose health," already, much im- 
paired, had, from the time of the departure of the ex- 
pedition, gradually declined, until March 22d, when he 
died. The news affected him deeply, but his official 
duties prevented him from at once hastening to his be- 
reaved home ; and he posted, as before, in all haste to 
London to present his papers to the Admiralty. The 
letters he had received in Scotland also brought the 
tidings of his youngest sister's marriage. She was then 
living near London, and saw him on the day after his 
arrival in town. As might be expected in one whose 



152 MEMOIRS OF 

affection for home ties was always so peculiarly strong, 
he was deeply depressed in spirits, and she observed 
that he could neither eat nor speak. The next day, 
she was summoned in haste to his hotel, and found him 
already in the delirium of high fever. For some days 
he was in considerable danger, and his sister and 
brother-in-law, with his friend, Mr. Martyr, were con- 
stantly with him, but his critical condition was carefully 
kept from his mother's ear, until the crisis was passed. 
The meeting between the widowed mother and her 
beloved son was most affecting, as the former lifted up 
her heart, in solemn thanksgiving, to Him, who had 
mercifully preserved her from further bereavement. 

The following letter, one of the first he wrote after 
his recovery from this illness, was in reply to the con- 
gratulations of his friend Franklin on his own safe 
return. The latter had himself returned the year be- 
fore, from the perilous expedition, with Sir John Eich- 
ardson, to the shores of the Polar Sea, which has made 
their names for ever memorable in the annals of Arctic 
adventure. 

V Stamford Sill, October 23, 1823. 

" My Dear Franklin : I can sincerely assure you, 
that it was with no ordinary feelings of gratification, that 
I read your kind letter of congratulation on my return. 
Of the splendid achievements of yourself, and your brave 
companions in enterprise, I can hardly trust myself to 
speak, for I am apprehensive of not conveying what, in- 
deed, can never be conveyed adequately in words, my 
unbounded admiration of what you have, under the bless- 
ing of God, been enabled to perform, and the manner in 
which you have performed it. To place you, in the rank 
of travellers, above Park, and Hearne, and others, would, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 153 

m my estimation, be nothing in comparison of your 
merits. But, in you, and your party, my dear friend, we 
see so sublime an instance of Christian confidence in the 
Almighty, of the superiority of moral and religious energy 
over mere brute strength of body, that it is impossible to 
contemplate your sufferings, and preservation, without a 
sensation of reverential awe ! I have not yet seen your 
book, and have only read the Quarterly Review. Your 
letter was put into my hand at Shetland, and I need not 
be ashamed to say, that I cried over it like a child. The 
tears I shed, however, were those of pride and pleasure ; 
pride, at being your fellow-countryman, brother officer, 
and friend ; pleasure, in seeing the virtues of the Christ- 
ian adding their first and highest charm to the uncon- 
querable perseverance, and splendid talents, of the officer 
and the man. I have a promise of your book this day 
fr ^m my brother-in-law, Mr. Martineau, with whom (sur- 
rounded by all my family) I am staying for a week at 
Stamford Hill. I can not, at present, enter into any shojy 
business — I mean geographical details, but I long very 
much to see the connection between our discoveries. 
Ours are small, for our success has been small on this oc- 
casion. Briefly, (for the doctors insist upon it,) the north- 
eastern portion of America consists of a singular penin 
sula, extending from Repulse Bay in 66 \° lat. to 69f °, and 
resembling a bastion at the corner of a fort, the gorge of 
the bastion being three days of Equimaux journey, across 
from Repulse Bay to Akkoolee, one of their settlements 
or stations on the opposite, or Polar Sea side. This great 
southern indentation corresponds, I imagine, with your 
route, which led you into 66^°, I think, in proceeding 
eastward, but I have really so vague an idea of your pro- 
ceedings, geographically, that I can, at present, say very 
little to gratify curiosity concerning the connection of our 



15 4 MEMOIRS OF 

discoveries. I shall have volumes to say, or write, to 
you hereafter, but do not be alarmed at the supposition 
of my expecting volumes from you in return. 
" I shall only add that I am, my dear Franklin, 
"Your ever faithful, and most sincerely admiring 
friend, 

"W. E. Pajiry." 

He had now attained the rank of Post Captain, hav- 
ing been promoted during his absence, as soon as the 
twelve months of service as Commander had expired. 
The result of the late expedition, though unsuccessful 
as to its ultimate object, had at least shown what route- 
was to be avoided, in the search, for a practicable pas- 
sage to the westward ; while to give up the matter, at 
that stage, would have been, in Parry's opinion, to lose 
all the benefit of the experience already gained at the 
cost of so much toil, and of which other nations might 
possibly take advantage, to snatch from England 
the glory of the great discovery. . It was, therefore, 
soon generally understood that a third expedition 
would be sent out, of which Parry would again take 
the command. Upon his recovery from his illness, 
Lord Melville offerered to him the situation of Hyclro- 
grapher to the Admiralty. He was, at first, unwilling 
to accept an office which would shut him out from ac- 
tive service, whether in the Arctic seas, or elsewhere, 
but this difficulty was soon obviated. 

"Zondon, Nov. 26, 1823. 
" Lord Melville has said and done so handsomely about 
the Hydrographer's situation, insisting on keeping it 
open for me, even during an expedition, that I have, 



SIS W. E. PAEIiY. 155 

literally per force, accepted it, and shall be appointed 
probably this day. How I shall get through the work, 
and another equipment, and my book, I know not ; but 
of this I must make the best I can, having, in fact, no 
choice. It will, in short, be a fag, but, of course, highly 
nattering for the present, and beneficial for the future. 
Another expedition is not quite determined on, but will 
be soon, I have little doubt." 

This was written in November; and, before the 
end of the year, the "Hecla" and "Fury" were again 
selected to renew the search for the North- West 
Passage, and Parry was once more in his old place, 
and at his old occupation, fitting out his ships in Dept- 
ford Dockyard. 



155 MEMOIRS OF 



CHAPTEE YE 

Third and Last Yoyage for the Discovery of a North- West Passage — 
"Winter at Tort Bowen — Masquerade — Loss of the " Fury" — "Hecla" 
returns Home — Development of Religious Character. 

1824—1825. 

A few days before Parry received liis commission 
for the expedition now to be recorded, lie was honored 
with the freedom of the city of Winchester. In 
acknowledging the compliments contained in the speech 
of the Mayor, he spoke as follows : 

" The merits which you have kindly attributed to me, 
are such only as, I trust, would have been found in every 
British seaman, and every Christian commander, under 
similar circumstances. It has, indeed, been my fortune, 
under Providence, to meet with some success in my en- 
deavors. To the zealous cooperation of my brother 
officers, and the exemplary conduct of the faithful men 
intrusted to my charge, it has (under the same superin- 
tending care) been owing, that even our comparative 
failures have not, perhaps, been altogether without 
benefit to our country. By these, any future attempt 
may, in some measure, be directed, and the attainment 
of the desired object, to a certain extent, rendered more 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 157 

easy. Should any call be made on our future exertions, 
the liberal and friendly, nay, affectionate reception we 
have experienced at home can not fail to encourage us in 
our labors." 

As soon as it was settled that another expedition 
should be sent out, the next point to be determined 
was, in what particular direction the new attempt 
should be made. Franklin's recent perilous journey 
to the mouth of the Coppermine Eiver had established, 
beyond a doubt, the position of the northern coast of 
America, and along this coast it was still Parry's opin- 
ion that the passage must be sought, in preference to 
the higher latitude of Melville Island. But the ques- 
tion was now raised by some at home, whether, con- 
sidering the difficulties experienced in the late voyages, 
it wGuld not be wiser to reverse the mode of operations, 
by seeking to enter the Polar Sea from the west 
through Behring's Straits, rather than from its eastern 
entrances, as heretofore. Of this proposition Parry, at 
once, signified his unqualified disapproval, and con- 
cluded a letter on the subject to Lord Melville with 
these words: " The information lately obtained makes 
it less advisable than ever for England to make the 
attempt from any but the Atlantic side ; because it is 
obvious, that any difficulties of a more than ordinary 
nature should be encountered at first, while the re- 
sources are complete, the ships uninjured, and the 
energy of the crews wholly unimpaired." This decided 
opinion, coupled with his own experience of the hope- 
less barrier of ice near Melville Island, and in the 
Strait of the " Hecla ' and " Fury,'' reduced the ques- 
tion to very narrow limits. The only other known 



158 MEMOIRS OF 

opening which remained, was that of Prince Eegent's 
Inlet, visited by himself in his first voyage. It is 
true that the ice to the southward had then presented 
an unpromising appearance ; but the channel was 
wide, and the well-known rapidity with which, under 
ordinary circumstances, changes in the state of the ice 
occur, even from day to day, daring the summer, made 
it not unlikely that it would be found more favorable 
on a second visit. These views he strongly urged on 
the Admiralty, and, as might be supposed, his advice 
was favorably received, and formed, as before, the basis 
of his instructions for the coming voyage. " The con- 
fidence," such were their words, "which we are justi- 
fied in placing in your judgment and experience, de- 
termine us to authorize and direct you to pursue the 
course which you consider most promising, namely, 
through Prince Eegent's Inlet." 

The success which had attended the entertainment 
on board the "Fury" in 1821 emboldened Parry to 
repeat the attempt now, on a larger scale than before. 
This time, both ships were gayly dressed out, and the 
proceedings varied by a concert on board the " Hecla." 
Several of the best performers had volunteered their 
services, and seemed, to their delighted hearers, as 
though really inspired for the occasion beyond their 
usual powers of pleasing. As the twilight closed in, a 
novel and brilliant effect was produced by colored 
lamps hung amongst the rigging, and along the bul- 
warks of the vessels. "It certainly was," writes Cap- 
tain Parry's sister, " a beautiful sight, and, under other 
circumstances, we should have thoroughly enjoyed it." 



SIE W. E. PAEEY. 150 

The ships sailed from the Nore on the 19th of May, 
1824, and in ten days were off the Orkneys, whence he 
thus writes to his mother. 

" 'Heclaf off the Orkneys, May 30. 
" My Deaeest Mothee : Being, by a very curious 
coincidence, off the Orkney Islands, on the same day that 
we took our departure from them three years ago, an 
opportunity offers of sending a few lines on shore, and of 
this I gladly take advantage, though I have only to say^ 
that we are all well, comfortable, and happy, and about 
to begin our voyage across the Atlantic with a fair breeze 
and most charming weather. We shall not put in here 
if I can help it, and the present wind is so favorable, that 
there will probably be no occasion for it. Every thing is 
as complete as possible, and I do not know a thing that 
we want. My own health is perfectly good, and I am 
sure^ my dearest mother, that even you, with all your 
anxiety and affectionate solicitude for me, would, if you 
could see me, acknowledge that I am, in every respect, 
as comfortable as your heart could wish. I have only 
time to add my dearest love to all that are dear to me, 
from, my beloved mother, 

" Your fondly affectionate son, 

" W. E. Paeey." 

He 'took the same opportunity of writing a few last 
words to his friend Franklin, who was already medi- ' 
tating a second journey to the scene of his former suf- 
ferings on the north coast of America. 

" God bless you," he concludes, " my dear friend in all 
your noble undertakings ! May He be your guide and 
support in every difficulty and danger, and bring you 



160 MEMOIRS OF 

back in health, with renewed honors, to the numerous 
friends, to whom you are justly dear." 

On the 18th of June they fell in with the first ice in 
Davis' Strait, and, about this time, an incident occur- 
red, strongly illustrative of his great natural coolness 
in the hour of danger. It was Sunday forenoon, and, 
with the exception of a small watch on deck, the ship's 
company were mustered below for divine ssrvice, at 
? which, in the absence of a chaplain, he officiated him- 
self. He had finished the morning service, and had 
nearly reached the conclusion of the sermon, when the 
quartermaster came hastily clown the hatchway, and 
whispered a few hurried words in his ear. Parry, 
without exhibiting any signs of emotion, asked some 
questions in a low tone, and bade him return to his 
post. He then reopened his book, and continued his 
sermon as though nothing had occurred, concluding 
with the blessing. Then raising his hand, he said: 
" Now, my lads, all hands on deck — but mind, no bus- 
tle !" On reaching the deck, it was found that a mist, 
which had been hanging over them all the morning, 
had lifted, showing the land right ahead, and now only 
a short distance off. Parry, whose apparent indiffer- 
ence had only resulted from his persuasion that, accord- 
ing to the quartermaster's report, no immediate dan- 
ger was to be apprehended, now took up his usual post, 
and promptly issuing the needful orders, the ship's 
course was altered, and the danger avoided. "We 
knew we could always trust him !" are the emphatic 
words of one of his own seamen, present on the occa- 
sion; and those who know what seamen are, will 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 181 

scarcely wonder that volunteers were never wanting 
for any service in which, he was engaged. His exam- 
ple was no less conspicuous, in the contempt of fatigue 
and the power of endurance. " I have known him," 
says the same seaman, who acted as his steward, " pass 
hour after hour on the ' spike-plank ' without going 
below, in all weathers, often, for hours together, tak- 
ing no refreshment of any kind, but a glass of lemonade 
with one teaspoonful of rum in it. I was often very 
nearly doubling the allowance, but, thinks I, he is sure 
to find me out, he's so sharp, and then he'll never trust 
me again, which I couldn't bear !" 

The unusual severity of the season retarded the 
ships beyond all expectation. The difficulties of the 
icy barrier, through which they had, on a former occa- 
sion, pushed their way across Baffin's Bay, were now 
increased ten-fold, and, more than once, they were in 
fear that the winter would overtake them, before they 
had even jpassed the entrance of Lancaster Sound. It 
would be needless, after the accounts of the former 
voyages, to enter into a detail of the vexatious trials of 
patience, to which, for more than two months, they 
were thus subjected. At length, however, these exer- 
tions met with their deserved reward ; they entered 
Lancaster Sound, and, on the 27th September, had 
fairly rounded the north-east corner of Prince Eegent's 
Inlet. Had they been fortunate enough to reach this 
point a few weeks earlier, as might reasonably have 
been hoped, they would, in all probability, have been 
able to have pushed through the ice to the southward 
of the inlet, and, perhaps, have wintered on some part 
of the American coast ; but the season for navigation 



.162 MEMOIRS OF 

being now almost at an end, Parry determined to win- 
ter at Port Bowen, a convenient harbor on the east 
coast of the inlet, which he had himself discovered in 
1819. 

This was the fourth winter which it had been the lot 
of our voyagers to pass in Arctic regions, and was, in 
some respects, even more dreary than those of former 
years. At Melville Island all was new, and the spirits 
of all engaged were buoyed up by the hopes which the 
success of the voyage so far had inspired ; while at 
"Winter Island and Igloolik, the presence of the Esqui- 
maux afforded sufficient interest and amusement to pre- 
vent the time from hanging heavy on their hands. At 
Port Bo wen there was a total absence of all human 
creatures, save themselves, indeed, almost a total ab- 
sence of animal life, while at the same time they were 
still on old ground, not having, as yet, passed even the 
threshold of discovery. 

" The account of a winter passed in these" regions " 
(Parry writes in his journal) " can no longer be expected 
to afford the interest of novelty it once possessed, more 
especially in a station already delineated with tolerable 
geographical precision on our maps, and thus, as it were, 
brought near to our firesides at home. Independently, 
indeed, of this circumstance, it is hard to conceive any 
one thing more like another, than two winters passed in 
the higher latitudes of the polar regions, except wnen 
variety happens to be afforded by intercourse with some 
other branch of ' the great family of man.' Winter after 
whiter here assumes an aspect so much alike, that cur- 
sory observation can scarcely distinguish a single feature 
of variety. The winter of more temperate climates, and 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 163 

even m some of no slight severity, is occasionally diversi- 
fied by a thaw, which at once gives variety and compa- 
rative cheerfulness to the prospect. But here, when once 
the earth is covered, all is dreary, monotonous whiteness, 
not merely for days and weeks, but for more than half a 
year together. Whichever way the eye is turned, it 
meets a picture, calculated to impress upon the mind an 
idea of inanimate stillness, of that motionless torpor, with 
which our feelings have nothing congenial ; of any thing, 
in short, but life. In the very silei*ce there is a deadness, 
with which a human witness appears out of keeping. The 
presence of man seems an intrusion on the dreary solitude 
of this wintry desert, which even its native animals have, 
for a while, forsaken." 

The schools were now again set on foot, under the 
superintendence of Mr. Hooper, purser of the "Hecla," 
and it was pleasant to find that the benefit was not con 
fined ( to the score or so of individuals, whose want of 
scholarship brought them to the school tables on the 
"Hecla's" lower deck in the long evenings, but ex- 
tended itself to all the ship's company, "making the 
whole," writes Parry, " such a scene of quiet rational 
occupation as I never before witnessed on board a 
ship." 

" I do not speak lightly," he continues, " when I ex- 
press my thorough persuasion, that, to the moral effects 
thus produced on the minds of the men, were owing, in 
a very high degree, the constant yet sober cheerfulness, 
the uninterrupted good order, and even, in some measure, 
the extraordinary state of health, which prevailed among 
us during the winter." 



164 MEMOIES OP 

Of one of the Sunday evening schools Mr. Hooper 
writes in his journal : 

" I have been, this evening, gratified beyond measure 
by the conduct of my school. We assembled as usual, 
and Captain Parry read to us an excellent sermon. We 
then read over three or four times the second lesson for 
the day, and I expounded it to the best of my ability. 
After this, we went to prayers, and, having closed, I 
wished them good night as usual, when my friend John 
Darke (one of the ' Hecla's seamen) said he wished to say 
a few words*. He then returned to his knees, and, in a 
few simple but affecting words, returned thanks for the 
blessing enjoyed by himself and shipmates in a Christian 
captain, and a Christian teacher, imploring the blessing 
of God in behalf of both Captain Parry and myself. After 
this, he desired, for himself and ship-mates, to thank me 
for the trouble I had taken, and the countenance of every 
one spoke the same thing, and showed that they had de- 
puted him to do this." 

The officers and men of the present expedition hav- * 
ing almost all served on the former voyages, it was 
thought expedient to devise some novelty in the way 
of amusements, which all acknowledged were "by this 
time almost worn threadbare." They set their wits to 
work, and, at length, Captain Hoppner of the "Fury" 
proposed a general masquerade. The notion was at 
once eagerly caught up and acted upon, with the ut- 
most zeal, by all parties. None were more delighted 
than Parry himself. 

" It is impossible " (he writes) " that any idea could 
have proved more happy, or more exactly suited to our 



SIE W. E. PAEEY. 165 

situation. Admirably dressed characters of various de- 
scriptions readily took their part, and many of these were 
supported with a degree of spirit and genuine humor, 
which would have not disgraced a more refined assembly, 
while the latter might not have disdained, and would not 
have been disgraced, by copying the good order, deco- 
rum, and inoffensive cheerfulness, which our humble mas- 
querades presented." 

When the proposal was communicated to the ships' 
companies, they heartily responded to the call, and, in 
their own phraseology, "passed the word forward to 
prepare for action." The preparation of the different 
characters was, in itself, a fund of amusement, occupy- 
ing several days. "Well, Jack," one would say, "I've 
put my considering cap on, and I think as how I've 
rummaged up summut queer I" and nondescript enough 
was the usual result of these cogitations ! Before the 
first entertainment, which was to be held on board the 
"Fury," the chief topic among the men was, as to what 
part " the captain " would take. They knew him well 
enough to expect something worth seeing, and, at the 
same time, to be sure that they should feel at ease 
in his presence. Conjectures grew more rife as the 
festive day approached. He was well scanned by many 
curious eyes, as he emerged from his cabin and went 
down the ship's side, but he was well wrapped up in a 
large boat-cloak, and all that could be seen was his vio- 
lin, which he held under his arm ; so curiosity had to 
wait till all arrived at the masquerade hall, on the 
" Fury's " lower deck. And now the fun commenced 
in good earnest ; the captain himself, for some time at 
least, attracting the attention of all. The cloak had been 



166 MEMOIRS OF 

thrown aside, and there stood the facsimile of an old 
marine with a wooden leg, well known to all, who 
used to sit with a fiddle, begging for halfpence, on a 
road near Chatham. The part was admirably sustained. 
" Give a copper to poor Joe, your honor, who's lost his 
timbers in defense of his king and country !" and then 
would come a scrape on the fiddle, and a stave dole- 
fully drawled in a cracked voice. The appeal was not 
in vain, and the coppers fell fast into his hat. In an- 
other part of the deck stood a neat public house bar, at 
which a steady seamen acted as John Barleycorn, and 
supplied liquor in moderation to those who presented 
tickets, with which they had been provided for the pur- 
pose. Mine host had a ready tongue, and it may be 
supposed there was no lack of customers at the sign 
of the " Fury, No. 1, Arctic Street." The affair ended 
with a dance, in which the whole of the motley assem- 
blage joined with right good will; Turks, sweeps, 
Quakers, and old clothes men, footing it as merrily 
as though the scene of the festival were Portsmouth 
instead of Port Bowen : and presenting a strange con- 
trast to the dreary waste without, where an Arctic 
winter still held undisputed reign over the desolate 
shore and frozen waste of waters. At length, four bells 
(ten o'clock) is struck, the boatswain's chirp is heard 
above the din, " Away there, Heclas !" and, in another 
hour, not a sound is heard on board either ship to 
break the stillness of the long polar night. Next day, 
the votes were taken, and it soon appeared that, from 
the captain's cabin to the forecastle, there was but one 
opinion, namely that " this time, at least, the right nail 
had been hit on the head, and no mistake !" During 



SIR W. E. TARRY. 167 

these entertainments, which took place regularly at 
stated intervals, alternately on board both ships, not a 
single instance occurred of any thing that could inter- 
fere with the regular discipline, or at all weaken the 
respect of the men towards their superiors. " Ours, in 
fact," Parry observes, "were masquerades without li- 
centiousness, carnivals without excess I" 

During the long winter months of imprisonment, the 
officers of both ships found ample employment in the 
scientific observations, which their vicinity to the mag- 
netic pole rendered particularly important. The 
observatory had been erected on shore, as soon as the 
ships were secured in their winter quarters, and the 
interest in these occupations was so great, that its 
neighborhood, before long, presented the appearance 
of a small village, from the number of houses set up 
for the reception of magnetic needles. The interesting 
fact was discovered that, since their last visit in 1819, 
the variation had increased by as much as nine degrees, 
that is, from 114° to 123°. Close attention was also paid 
as usual to the various meteorological phenomena, and 
it was remarked that falling stars were very frequent, 
especially in the month of December. The Aurora 
Borealis, though frequently seen, was not often very 
brilliant ; and, as on previous voyages, the needles were 
never affected in the slightest degree during its contin- 
uance. 

" Once," (Parry writes,) " while Lieutenants Sherer 
and Ross, and myself were admiring the extreme beauty 
of this phenomenon, we all, simultaneously, uttered an 
exclamation of surprise, at seeing a bright ray of the 
Aurora shoot suddenly downward from the general mass 



168 MEMOIRS OF 

of light, between us and the land, which was distant only 
three hundred yards. Had I witnessed the phenomenon 
by myself, I should have been disposed to receive with 
caution the evidence, even of my own senses, as to this 
last fact ; but the appearance conveying precisely the 
same idea to three persons at once, all intently engaged 
in looking towards the spot, I have no doubt the ray of 
light actually passed within that distance of us." 

The extreme facility with which sounds are heard at 
a great distance in cold weather has often been re- 
marked, and a well -authenticated instance of this 
occurred during the winter at Port Bowen. Lieut. 
Foster, of the "Hecla," had occasion to send a man 
from the observatory to the opposite shore of the har- 
bor, a distance of 6696 feet, or about one mile and a 
fifth, in order to fix a meridian mark, and placed a 
second person half-way between to repeat his directions. 
This he found on trial to be quite unnecessary, as he 
could easily converse with the man at the distant sta- 
tion. The thermometer at the time was eighteen 
degrees below zero, and the weather calm and clear. 

On the 20th July, the ships were released from their 
winter quarters, and stood across to the west shore of 
Prince Kegent's Inlet, along which they now coasted to 
the southward. This land had been named by Parry, 
in his former voyage, North Somerset, in honor of his 
native country, but the "Hecla" and "Griper" had 
not on that occasion explored it, having kept to the 
east shore of the inlet. 

" Hence," (he writes,) " it was the general feeling at 
this period, that the voyage had but now commenced. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 169 

The labors of a bad summer, and the tedium of a long 
winter, were forgotten in a moment, when we found our- 
selves on ground not hitherto explored, and with every 
apparent prospect before us of making as rapid progress 
as the nature of this navigation will permit." 

These bright gleams of hope, however, were soon 
clouded. The ice to seaward gradually approached the 
land, until it drove both ships on shore, in which pro- 
cess the "Fury" was swept irresistibly past the 
" Hecla," only avoiding, by a few feet, a contact which 
might have been ruinous to both vessels. They were 
got off again at high water, but the unfortunate " Fury" 
was so seriously damaged, that four pumps constantly 
kept going were hardly sufficient to keep her afloat ; 
and Captain Hoppner, with his officers and men, were 
almost exhausted with their incessant labors. Prepar- 
ations were made for heaving her down, to repair the 
injury to her keel ; but, in the very act of so doing, a 
gale of wind destroyed the basin which had, with great 
labor, been constructed in the ice to receive her, and it 
was found necessary to tow her out to sea, in which 
service the "Hecla" herself was exposed to no little 
danger. For a few hours the " Fury" was kept afloat, 
by means of sails passed under her keel to stop the 
worst leaks ; but, on the 21st August, she was once 
more on shore, and, this time, hopelessly stranded on 
an open and stony beach, with her hold full of water. 
The officers and men of both ships were now so harassed 
and worn out, as to be scarcely capable of any furtner 
exertion without rest, and more than one instance oc- 
curred of stupor arising from excessive fatigue, amount- 
8 



170 MEMOIRS OF 

ing to a certain degree of failure in intellect, rendering 
the individual so affected quite unable, at first, to com- 
prehend an order, though still as willing as ever to 
obey it. A survey was held on the stranded vessel, 
and the unanimous opinion of her officers confirmed 
that to which Parry had reluctantly come, that she 
must be abandoned. This was rendered more vexatious 
by the unusual absence of ice to the southward, as well 
as the navigable sea, indicated in that direction by a 
dark "water-sky." The condition of the "Fury," 
however, forbade all hopes of being able to take advan- 
tage of these favorable prospects, and Parry saw that 
one course only was open to him in this extremity. 

" Our resources only being sufficient to hold out to the 
autumn of the following year, it would have been folly to 
hope for final success, considering the small progress we 
had already made, the uncertain nature of the navigation, 
and the advanced period of the season. I was, therefore, 
reduced to the only remaining conclusion, that it was my 
duty to return to England in compliance with the plain 
tenor of my instructions. But," he adds, " it was with 
extreme pain and regret that I made the signal for the 
' Fury's' officers and men to go for their clothes, which 
had been put on shore with the stores." 

Every spare corner of the " Hecla" being required 
for the accommodation of a double complement, the 
greater part of the "Fury's" stores were left either on 
board her, or on shore. These preparations at length 
concluded, the boats were hoisted up, and the " Hecla's" 
head turned to the north-eastward. 

On the 12th of October, Captain Parry landed at 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 171 

Peterhead, from which place he posted to London to 
present his papers at the Admiralty, whence he an- 
nounced his arrival to his mother in these words : 

"London, Oct. 16, 1825. 
" My Beloved Mother : I have tried every means of 
communicating to you that I am safe and well, and so are 
all belonging to the expedition, though unsuccessful, and 
having lost the ' Fury.' This is one of the accidents to 
which all such attempts must be liable, and from which 

God's providence alone has hitherto preserved us 

We left the poor old c Fury ' full of water. God has been 
still very merciful to us, especially to me. All the 
' Hecla's ' people return, by His good providence, better 
than when we left England, and only two of the ' Fury's' 
have been lost, one by accident and one by a disease incur- 
able in any place, and under any circumstances," 

In compliance with the customary regulations of the 
service, a court-martial was held, at Sheerness, on the 
commander and officers of the " Fury." "By a curious 
necessity," Parry wrote, "there not being captains 
enough to form the court, I sat as a member myself, 
although it was, in fact, on myself that the responsi- 
bility rested 1 " The interest excited by the affair was 
so great, that the " Gloucester," on board of which the 
court was held, was crowded with persons desirous of 
witnessing the proceeding, and of learning the particti 
lars of the disaster. After going through the form of 
acquitting Captain Hoppner and his officers, a flattei 
ing encomium was passed on the exertions of arJ 
engaged in the expedition. As to the loss of the vessel 
under his command, Parry remarks, that the only real 



172 MEMOIRS OF 

cause for wonder was his long exemption from such a 
catastrophe, in a service involving such constant and 
unavoidable risk as an Arctic voyage. 

The development of Captain Parry's religious cha- 
racter, differed, in some respects, from the experience 
of others. In many cases there seems to be some turn- 
ing point, as it were, in the life, dividing the old from 
the new. Here, the change appears to have been far 
more gradual, and yet that there was such a change 
is very evident. While, hitherto, "virtue" had 
been his watchword, it was, henceforward, a simple, 
childlike faith in the merits of his Saviour ; while, in 
former years, he had been content to bow reverently 
before the footstool of the Creator, he was now led to 
cling confidently, and yet humbly, to the Cross of his 
Redeemer. Such a statement may perhaps, seem in- 
consistent with the high moral character and unmis- 
takable piety of his early years : but, little as he was 
accustomed to speak of his own inner feelings, no one 
who knew him can doubt that he, himself, regarded the 
religion of his early life as widely differing from his 
later experience. The former was but an imperfect, 
vague, undeveloped service ; the latter was as " a light 
shining more and more unto the perfect day." It might 
be said of him, as of Cornelius, that he had been a 
devout man, one that feared Grod, and prayed to Grod 
" always," but that, henceforth, it was given to him to 
know " the way of Grod more perfectly." And to the 
influence of more than one immediate cause may we 
trace its development at this time. His father's death 
had had, as we have seen, a strong effect upon him, 
and would, doubtless, lead him to inquire, with 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 173 

greater anxiety, into the grounds of his own belief. 
Under these inquiries he was not left alone to the 
struggles of his own heart, but found in Mr. Hooper, 
whose name had occurred more than once in these 
pages, one ever ready to offer sympathy and help ; so 
that during the winter spent at Port Bowen, a close tie 
of Christian friendship was formed between them. A 
pocket edition of the New Testament, which Captain 
Parry had in his possession during this voyage, con- 
tains the following entry on the first page in his own 
hand- writing : "Began to read the New Testament 
every evening, from June 3d, 1824." This is followed 
by a succession of dates, extending through two years, 
being the days on which the Testament was recom- 
menced in regular order, amounting to seven times in 
all. To this simple reading through and through of 
the New Testament did he ascribe, more than to any 
other means, the progressive change in his religious 
views, applying to himself the words of the Psalm : 
" The entrance of Thy Word giveth light." 

The following extracts are from Mr. Hooper's pri- 
vate journal. 

"January 23 d, 1825. — My esteemed friend is more 
earnestly alive than ever to the importance of living for 
another world, and not for this alone. His views become 
every day more clear. We have much delight in con- 
versing ; and, I hope, under the influence of God's Holy 
Spirit, in increasing each other's knowledge on religious 
subjects. I frequently spend half an hour with him after 
our school, and find some of the time thus passed both 
precious and delightful." 



174 MEMOIRS OF 

"February 13th. — Captain Parry is most earnest in 
his desire to awaken the people to the importance of 
eternity, on which subject his own views have, in the last 
few months, materially expanded, and, under the divine 
blessing, I have confident hopes of benefiting many of 
them by our mutual endeavors." 

That these efforts, on the part of these Christian 
brother officers, were highly appreciated by those for 
whose benefit they were intended, may be seen from 
the two following letters from a seaman on board the 
" Ilecla," the first written at the time, and tbe other 
addressed to Mr. Hooper some years afterwards. 

" IT. 31. S. 'ITecla: Port Bowen, Dec, 1824. 
" I must be plain and honest in my declarations. The 
Lord has been pleased to supply us sinful and unworthy 
creatures with a Christian and faithful captain, and 
preacher of the most sacred and Holy Gospel, and, like- 
wise, a good Christian teacher, in this wild and solitary 
place, and shall we still rebel against such a good God as 
this, and go on in sin ? Shall I not, with my small but 
most grateful acknowledgments, contribute something 
toward the support of religion ? This, sir, I should wish 
to keep secret from the world, for 'in your alms-givino-, 
let not your right hand know what your left hand doeth.' 
But I am so circumstanced now, that this I can not avoid, 
and if you wU] have the goodness to write how it should 
be done, the sum of 101. shall be given, as you think well 
of. May the Lord be with you, and with my spirit, and 
I am, Sir, 

" Your obedient and very humble servant, 

"John Darke. Seaman." 



Sill W. E. TARRY. . 175 

" I respect you and Captain Parry so far, that I would 
willingly lay down my life freely to serve you. I can 
not bear to lose sight of the persons in whom I have 
such friends, and who, by the grace of God, have been 
the means of saving my soul. 

a J. D» 

Shortly after the arrival of the "Hecla"in Eng- 
land, in 1825, Parry underwent a severe trial in the 
death of his esteemed friend, Mr. Charles Martyr. The 
following letter, written towards the close of his fatal 
illness, is indicative of the expansion of his own reli- 



" Dear Charles Martyr, of whose value, as a friend, 
you are fully aware, is, I fear, no less than dying, and I, 
who would die for him, can not, as yet, go to Chatham 
to see him. Yes, he is, I believe, going to reap his re- 
ward, and to receive a crown of glory. He is, my dear 
friend, the happiest man in .England, I believe, at this 
moment. The calm composure with which he contem- 
plates his dissolution, is, I am told, most delightful. He 
says he is sure the God he has endeavored to serve will 
never ' leave nor forsake ' his wife and children. He 
speaks of it, not as many do, in general dependence on 
God's mercy, but in the sure and certain hope that it will 
be so. His, in short, is faith, the true scriptural faith, 
and by this he trusts, through the merits of his Saviour, 
to enter heaven himself, and feels certain that He, with- 
out whose permission not a sparrow falls to the ground, 
will preserve from want those whom he leaves behind, who 
are of more value than many sparrows. You, my dear 
friends, will forgive my intruding all this upon you, but 
the object of my present affliction is not unknown to 



176 MEMOIRS OF 

you, and you can deeply appreciate every feeling of mine 
upon the occasion." 

After Mr. Martyr's decease, Parry had the melan- 
choly satisfaction of testifying to the worth of his de- 
parted friend, in an article for the " Christian Observ- 
er," and the spirit which pervades every page is a still 
farther illustration of the remarks we have ventured 
to make upon his own religious views. The memoir 
concludes with these words : 

"At length his happy spirit was released, and returned 
to God who gave it. Thus, at the early age of thirty- 
three years, this faithful servant of God ' fell asleep in 
Jesus.' He is now delivered from the bondage of cor- 
ruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
Now, freed from all darkness, and doubts, and fears, he 
is drinking, from the pure fountain of life and happiness, 
draughts of unmixed and uninterrupted felicity. His 
warfare is ended, and he is wearing a crown of glory, 
' the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' " 

The voyage of 1824, resulting in the loss of the 
" Fury," was the last expedition in which Parry was 
engaged for the discovery of a North-West Passage, 
his next public service having a different end in view, 
though it led him once more into similar scenes. Still, 
while the great problem remained unsolved, his own 
exertions had not been without brilliant result. Even 
his failures served as landmarks to guide the steps of 
those who followed in his track, and the extent of his 
success, on ground hitherto unexplored, had, in a great 
measure, exhausted the more difficult part of the un- 
dertaking, leaving to his successors only the glory of 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 177 

completing the last link in the chain of discovery. He 
lived just long enough to see this link added, as he felt 
sure would eventually be the case. 

" I feel confident," (he writes, at the close of his nar- 
rative of this voyage,) " that the undertaking, if it be 
deemed advisable at any future time to pursue it, will, 
one day or other, be accomplished ; for, setting aside the 
accidents, to which, from their very nature, such attempts 
must be liable, I can not but believe it to be an enter- 
prise well within the reasonable limits of practicability. 
It may be tried often, and often fail, for several favorable 
and fortunate circumstances must be combined for its ac- 
complishment, but I believe, nevertheless, that it will 
ultimately be accomplished. Happy (he adds) I should 
have considered myself in solving this interesting ques- 
tion, instead of leaving it a matter of speculation and 
conjecture; happy shall I be also, if any labors of mine 
in the humble, though it would seem necessary, office of 
pioneer, should ultimately contribute to the success of 
some more fortunate individual ; but most happy should 
I be, to be again selected as that individual. May it still 
fall to England's lot to accomplish this undertaking, and 
may she ever continue to take the lead in enterprises in- 
tended to contribute to the advancement of science, and 
to promote, with her own, the welfare of mankind at 
large. Such enterprises, so disinterested as well as use- 
ful in their object, do honor to the country which under- 
takes them, even when they fail ; they can not but ex- 
cite the admiration and respect of every liberal and cul- 
tivated mind ; and the page of future history will un- 
doubtedly record them, as in every way worthy of a 
powerful, virtuous, and enlightened nation.' " 
8* 



178 MEMOIRS OF 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Interest in Religious Societies — Appointment to the Command of an Ex- 
pedition for the purpose of attempting to reach the North Pole — 
Marriage — Sailing of the Expedition — The "Hecla" left at Spitzbergen 
— Boat and Sledge Journey to the Northward — Return to the " Hecla" 
Homeward Voyage — Short Tour on the Continent — Death of his 
Eldest Child. 

1826—1828. 

Immediately after his return from the expedition 
recorded in the last chapter, Parry resumed his duties 
as hydrographer at the Admiralty. On the 15th Feb- 
ruary, 1826, the freedom of the city of Lynn was voted 
to him by the corporation, " in testimony of the high 
sense they entertained of his meritorious and enterpris- 
ing conduct." 

At this time, his interest in religious societies seems 
to have been first awakened. The Society for Promot- 
ing Christianity among the Jews, the Church Mission- 
ary, and the Naval and Military Bible Societies, are 
frequently mentioned in his letters, the latter especially, 
for which he spoke at the annual May meeting of this 
year, besides taking an active part in the formation of 
an association at Chatham. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 179 

" I have often wished," (he remarked on this occasion,) 
" when paying my usual visits to our little schools, that 
the friends of the Naval and Military Bible Society, or 
even its enemies, (if any such there can be,) could for a 
moment have been transported to the 4 Hecla's ' lower 
deck. They would there have seen a whole ship's com- 
pany gradually drawing round the school tables, to hear 
the word of God expounded, they would have seen each 
individual listening with eager and mute attention, and, 
literally, those who came to scoff remaining to pray. I 
can not expect, ladies and gentlemen, to convey to your 
mind the interest of such a scene, with all the associations 
arising out of our peculiar situation, but the recollection 
will ever be to me one of the strongest, and, I may truly 
say, the sweetest of my life. The effect was simply this, 
that the very best men on board the ' Hecla,' those, I 
mean, who were always called upon in time of especial 
difficulty and danger — were, without exception, those 
who had thought the most seriously on religious subjects ; 
and that, if a still more scrupulous selection were to be 
made of that number, the choice would, without hesita- 
tion, fall on two or three individuals eminently Christian. 
Such has been the result of my own observation and ex- 
perience. Should I be employed on a similar service, and 
were you to ask what men I would select, I would say, 
' Give me the best Christians,' for then we should be 
strong indeed, strong in the Lord, and in the power of 
His might." 

In thus openly espousing the cause of religion, he 
felt that he was now, as it were, nailing to the mast the 
colors of his Christian profession. 

" My speech at the Bible Society " (he writes) " has 
been talked of very sneeringly at this great house, (the 



180 MEMOIRS OF 

Admiralty,) but oh! how insignificant does all within 
these walls appear, when the imagination turns, but for 
a moment, to the assembled hosts of heaven, and men, 
and angels ! In this I had long ago counted the cost, 
and am, I trust, ready, in dependence on other strength 
than my own, to bear much more reproach than this. 
Pray for me, my dear friend, that my strength fail not, 
and that I may be encouraged and supported by God's 
Holy Spirit, in every humble endeavor to advance His 
glory, and the salvation of men's souls!" 

After the unsuccessful termination of the recent 
efforts to discover the North- West Passage, it seemed 
useless, for the present, to pursue the attempt further ; 
but this did not hinder Parry from turning his atten- 
tion to another quarter, where success seemed more 
hopeful. The interesting experiments which had been 
made, during the late expeditions, in the neighborhood 
of the Magnetic Pole, had induced many scientific men 
to speculate on the possibility of carrying out similar 
observations at the very pole of the earth itself. Parry 
employed the few leisure moments he could snatch 
from the duties of his office in drawing up a statement 
respecting the practicability of effecting this object by 
means of sledge-boats, as had been before proposed by 
his friend and brother officer, Captain Franklin. Of 
the difficulties involved in the scheme he was fully 
aware ; but, as he remarked in a letter to Franklin, then 
himself absent from England on Arctic discovery, "the 
true reply to all doubts is, Gro and see !" The memorial, 
when completed, was laid before Lord Melville and 
the Lords of the Admiralty, supported by a recom- 
mendation from Sir Humphry Davy, the President of 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 181 

the Koyal Society, to whom Parry, as a member of the 
Society, had communicated his views. As might be 
anticipated, some opposition was at first made to the 
scheme, but, after further discussion, the objections 
were overruled, and Parry was appointed to the com- 
mand of an expedition "for the purpose of attempting 
to reach the North Pole." 

"Admiralty, July 8, 1826. 
" I am in the highest possible spirits, being quite re- 
joiced in the prospect of some new and honorable employ- 
ment, better suited both to my tastes and early habits 
than the present sedentary occupation of my office. I 
was yesterday the whole day at Woolwich Dockyard, 
and went on board my dear old ' Hecla,' to determine on 
a few trifling alterations which must be made in her. I 
feel very great interest in this expedition, more than in 
any former one, as it is my own plan, and unique in its 
way." 

On the 23d of October, Captain Parry was united in 
marriage to Isabella Louisa, fourth daughter of Sir 
John (afterwards Lord) Stanley, of Alderley Park, 
Cheshire. The ceremony was performed in the parish 
church of Alderley, by the Eev. E. Stanley, (afterwards 
Bishop of Norwich,) with whom Captain Parry had 
for some time been on terms of intimate friendship. 
A silk ensign, worked for the expedition by the bride 
herself, was hoisted on the church tower. When hauled 
down, this was carefully folded up, not to be again 
unfurled, as they fondly hoped, except at the North 
Pole itself. 

On the 18th of November, the "Hecla" was for- 



182 MEMOIRS OF 

mally commissioned for the approaching voyage to 
Spitzbergen. 

"November 20, 1826. 
" On Saturday, at 10 o'clock, we set off for Deptford, 
and found Ross there waiting our arrival. The day was 
wet, hut Isabella does not mind trifles. As every body 
knew that she was coming, a great number of our former 
people had collected on board the ' Hecla,' and the access 
to her had been made very convenient by steps, etc. 
The form of commissioning is merely hoisting the pend- 
ant, and when a ship is paid off, the same is hauled down. 
I can not express to you the pride with which she hoisted, 
and I saw her hoist it. Every body who was by, was 
quite delighted. This is just what seamen delight in." 

This expedition was as popular as its predecessors, 
and so many were found desirous of sailing under 
Parry's command, that, with the greatest care to select 
none but first-rate hands, the ship was completely 
manned in three days after the hoisting of her pendant, 
as many men being refused as would have served to 
man her a second time. 

Though obliged, by his duties at the hydrographers 
office, to reside in London while the " Hecla " was fit- 
ting for service, Parry found leisure to go down to 
Deptford from time to time. On one occasion he was 
accompanied by his wife, who for several days took up 
her quarters with him on board. She writes : 

"February 22, 1827, H. M. 8. 'Hecla: 
" I delight in having returned to the bells and the sen- 
try's 'All's well,' at night ; there is something so comfort- 
able in the sound I have now also some idea of 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 183 

what it i* to be amongst ice. The river is quite full of 
it. The first evening I heard the sound of the ice grat- 
ing along the ship's side, I could hardly believe the noise, 
like thunder, was caused by the ice. That sound has 
now ceased, for the ice is firm and quiet, and the boats 
are employed in cutting their way through, to open a 
communication with the shore. They are nearly two 
hours- in getting two boats' length, which will give you 
some idea of the labor. Mr. Ross and the officers seem 
to delight in it, and perhaps, if I had seen as much of it 
as they have, I should not think more of real ice, than 
they do of this." 

On the 25th of March, 1827, the "Hecla " was ready 
for sea, and Parry, having bid farewell to his wife in 
London, went down to Deptford, accompanied by some 
members of her family, one of whom writes : 

" The boat was waiting for us, and we went on board, 
where we found the deck crowded with the boats, etc. 
Parry immediately went into his own cabin, and soon 
came out again in full uniform, in which I had never seen 
him since I knew and loved him. After breakfast, we 
read his Admiralty instructions, and dwelt with comfort 
on the page enjoining him not to attempt to persevere, 
even with the prospect of success, at the risk of life or 
lives. .... The door opens, and Mr. Ross's eager face 
looks in, with an expression of more than usual joy : 
' The steamboat is ahead, sir ; we are all ready !' In an- 
other minute he comes again, with ' Captain Boxer's* 
compliments, sir, and he is here with his gig, if he can be 
of any use !' The offer was accepted for us. We went 

* Captain Boxer then commanded the "Hussar" frigate. 



184 MEMOIRS OF 

up, and, taking a hasty glance at the busy deck, and all 
those happy, sanguine faces, we shook hands, and were 
seated in the slung chair. We then rowed along-side, 
cheered by all the ships as we passed, till we arrived 
opposite Greenwich Hospital. The pensioners were ar- 
ranged along the shore, and the 'Hecla' cheered them 
first, and they returned the compliment. By this time 
she was getting ahead of us, so we rested on our oars, 
and watched her as she gradually left us, Parry still stand- 
ing in the gangway, leaning with one hand on the side, 
and looking as if he were, indeed, in his proper place, 
with that commanding and dignified composure which 
marks his manner on all great occasions. I felt then as 
if I did not wish to see him again, and as if that were 
the proper place to lose sight of him. The way in which 
he gets through all business, all worries and details, with 
so few words and such little trouble, so much considera- 
tion and decision, is very striking ; and he says that, with 
all he is now leaving, he is happier in going out than he 
has ever been before." 

Whilst giving this account of the circumstances 
attendant on his embarkation, it will not be uninterest- 
ing to the reader to be made acquainted with some of 
the more secret feelings of his mind, as expressed in 
his letters at this time, from which it may be seen how 
rapidly his religious views were now maturing. The 
following were written to his wife, after the " Hecla" 
had left Deptford. 

"Sheerness, April 3, 1827. 

" Let God continue to have a place in every thought, 
and, in exchange, you will be sure to receive His peace, 
'which passeth all understanding.' Yes, it is indeed His 
strength, not our own, which has enabled us to bear this 



S1K W. E. PARRY. 185 

trial of separation, and it should, and, I trust, will teach 
us how utterly unable we are to do any thing of ourselves, 
but that His grace is sufficient for us." 

" 'Heclafat sea, April 4, 1827. 
" You will be glad to hear that I leave England with- 
out a single letter unanswered. I think I must have writ- 
ten nearly fifty since I saw you ; but this, you know, is 
no new thing. How I shall dwell with delight on the 

communion between you and L . Live, both of you, 

in the constant spirit of prayer. Do every thing with 
prayer flowing from your hearts. In your going out, 
and in your coming in — whatever you do, let a little fer- 
vent, though silent, prayer ascend to His ear, who never 
refuses to listen to us. This is not, as some would tell us, 
gloom and melancholy. Who is — who can be so cheer- 
ful as the Christian ? None. He has a peace which the 
world can neither give nor take away. Dwell as much 
as possible, in your reading, on the very wonderful scheme 
of redemption by Christ, a scheme which none but God 
could have devised. Continue, as you now do, to weigh 
every verse of Scripture which you read, and you will 
find new beauties, and new proofs of the tender mercies 
of God displayed in the atonement of the Saviour, as 
you proceed with this delightful study. You are quite 
right in supposing /ou will have difficulties ; but take 
your Bible in your hand, and see if the whole New Tes- 
tament does not ; redict the very thing which you may 
be experiencing. Therefore, be of good cheer, God will 
be with you, you need not fear who is against you. 
Weigh frequently in your mind the enormous dispropor- 
tion which exists between time and eternity, and how 
light er than nothing will all the little trifles appear to 
you, with which we are so apt to tease ourselves 



186 MEMOIRS OF 

I am afraid you will find me a more unread man than 
ever, for I do not see a chance of my being able to read 
any book but one, our book, the book. It is astonishing 
how very little I have read on the expeditions. Ignorant 
people imagine we have such a quantity of leisure time, 
but I have never found the day long enough for all I 
wished to do." 

"Good Friday, April 13, 1827. On this day last year, 
I wrote my letter to Lord Melville, proposing this expe- 
dition. It was an eventful day ; occupied, I well remem- 
ber, in writing my letter, and making every thing about 
it as complete as I could. To-day, though now employed 
on the very expedition I was then so anxious for, I have 
been endeavoring to turn my thoughts to a much more 
important event, I mean the crucifixion of our blessed 
Saviour, as on this day." 

The voyage to Hammerfest, in Norway, was effected 
easily, with fair winds. In this harbor they remained 
some time, for the purpose of obtaining reindeer, which 
they hoped might be useful in dragging the boats over 
the ice.* Leaving Hammerfest, they arrived, on the 
12th of May, off the shores of Spitzbergen, where a 
long and vexatious delay awaited them. To provide 
for the safety of the ship, as well as that of the boats 
on their return, it was absolutely necessary to find a 
safe harbor, in which the " Hecla," with her diminished 
crew, might be left, and the boat expedition know 
where to rejoin her. Several convenient bays were 
passed, but all their efforts to reach, them proved inef 
fectual, from the large fields of thick ice which pressed 

* These reindee : were not employed, in consequence of the rugged 
nature of the ice, as described hereafter. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 187 

closely on thi shore. So tantalizing was this unlooked- 
for hindrance to the departure of the boats, that Parry 
was tempted, more than once, to give up the thoughts 
of seeing the " Hecla" safe in harbor before leaving ; 
but, perhaps fortunately for all, the rough state of the 
ice to the northward rendered it impossible for the 
men to make any progress with the boats. More than 
a month was thus lost in the attempt to find an ac- 
cessible anchorage, when, at length, Treurenberg Bay 
presented itself, in all respects suitable for their purpose, 
"lean not," writes Parry, "describe the satisfaction, 
which the information of our success communicated to 
every individual on board. The main object of our 
enterprise now appeared almost within our grasp, and 
every body seemed anxious to make up, by renewed 
exertions, for the time we had unavoidably lost." 
The ship was quickly secured, and every precaution 
taken to provide against the contingency of her being 
driven to sea again by the ice. Lieut. Foster was left 
in charge at Treurenberg Bay, and, all arrangements 
being completed, at five P.M. on the 21st of June, the 
two boats, " Enterprise " and " Endeavor," respectively 
commanded by Parry, and his lieutenant, James 0. 
Ross, bade farewell to their comrades on board the ship, 
and, with the usual salute of three hearty cheers, set 
out for the northward. 

The boats employed on this novel service were fitted 
with strong "runners," shod with smooth steel, in the 
manner of a sledge, to the forepart of which the ropes 
for dragging the boat were attached. The crew of 
each consisted of two officers and twelve men, of 
whom two were marines. For three days they sailed 



188 MEMOIRS OF 

through the open water, but the ice gradually gathered 
round them, until, at length, they were compelled to 
haul the Boats up on to the. floe, and the actual labor 
of the expedition now commenced. Unless compelled 
by circumstances to act otherwise, the usual plan was 
to travel only by night, when the snow was harder 
than during the day time. It will, however, be re- 
membered that the daylight was constant, and that the 
terms ' day ' and ' night ' were only relative ; indeed, 
several of the men declared they never knew one from 
the other, during the whole excursion. 

" When we rose in the evening, we commenced our 
day by prayers, after which we took off our fur sleeping 
dresses, and put on those for travelling. We made a 
point of always putting on the same stockings and boots 
for travelling in, whether they dried during the day or 
not, and I believe it was only in five or six instances, at 
the most, that they were not still wet, or hard frozen. 
This, indeed, was of no consequence, beyond the discom- 
fort of putting them on in this state, as they were sure to 
be thoroughly wet in a quarter of an hour after recom- 
mencing our journey, while, on the other hand, it was of 
vital importance to keep dry things for sleeping in. Being 
' rigged ' for travelling, we breakfasted upon warm cocoa 
and biscuit, and, after stowing the things in the boats and 
on the sledges, we set off on our clay's journey, and usually 
travelled about five hours, then stopped an hour to dine, 
and again travelled four, or five, or even six hours, accord- 
ing to circumstances. After this we halted for the night, as 
we called it, though it was, really, early in the morning. 
The boats were placed close along-side each other, with 
their sterns to the wind, the snow or wet cleared out of 
them, and the sails placed over them as awnings. Every 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 189 

man then immediately put on dry stockings and fur boots, 
after which we set about the necessary repairs of boats, 
sledges, and clothes, and went to supper. Most of the 
officers and men then smoked their pipes, which served 
to dry the boats and awnings very much, and usually 
raised the temperature of our lodgings ten or fifteen de- 



This, it may be remarked, was the only part of their 
daily occupation in which Parry himself took no share. 
He used often to relate, that, when the others produced 
their pipes, he was wont to regale himself with the 
scent of a bottle of eau de Cologne, to which in conse- 
quence, the men gave the name of "the captain's pipe." 

" This part of the twenty-four hours " (the narrative 
continues) " was often a time, and the only time, of real 
enjoyment to us ; the men told their stories, and 'fought 
all their battles o'er again,' and the labors of the day, un- 
successful as they too often were, were forgotten. A 
regular watch was set, during our resting time, to look 
out for bears, or for the ice breaking up around us, as 
well as to attend to the drying of the clothes, each man 
alternately taking this duty for an hour. We then con- 
cluded our day with prayers, and having put on our fur 
dresses, lay down to sleep with a degree of comfort, 
which perhaps few persons would imagine possible under 
such circumstances, our chief inconvenience being, that 
we were somewhat pinched for room, and therefore were 
obliged to stow rather closer than was agreeable. After 
we had slept seven hours, the man appointed to boil the 
cocoa roused us, when it was ready, by the sound of a 
bugle, when we commenced our day in the manner before 
described." 



190 MEMOIRS OF 

The rough, nature of the ice, combined with the 
softness of its upper surface, rendered each day's 
work very tedious and laborious. Often, their way 
lay over small loose rugged masses, separated by little 
pools of water, obliging them constantly to launch 
and haul up the boats, each of which operations re- 
quired them to be unloaded, and occupied nearly a 
quarter of an hour. More than once, they were up- 
wards of two hours in advancing one hundred yards, 
and the snow was often so soft as to take them above 
their knees at every step, so that they were sometimes 
rive minutes together in moving a single empty boat 
with the united strength of the whole party, and the 
men, in dragging the sledges, were obliged to crawl 
on all-fours, to make any progress at all. In parts, 
the ice was composed, on its upper surface, of irregular 
needle-like crystals, which, becoming loosened by the 
thaw, rendered it very fatiguing to walk over, besides 
cutting the soles of the boots, on which account the 
men called it " pen -knife ice." In all this troublesome 
work Parry took an active lead. Whenever the boats 
landed on a floe, he and Eoss used to walk on ahead 
to select the best road. On arriving at any point of 
more than usual difficulty, they would mount one of 
the highest " hummocks" near, to obtain a better pros- 
pect. 

" Nothing could well exceed the dreariness which such 
a view presented. The eye wearied itself in vain to find 
any object but ice and sky to rest upon. From want of 
variety, the most trifling circumstance engaged a more 
than ordinary share of our attention, a passing gull, or a 
mass of ice of unusual form, became objects which our 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 191 

situation and circumstances magnified into ridiculous 
importance, and we have since often smiled to remember 
the eager interest, with which we regarded the most 
insignificant occurrences." 

In the course of one day's travelling, the only notice 
of animal life consisted in their having " heard a 
rotge,"* while, at another time, a couple of small flies 
upon the ice, were a?_ event in the day's journey con- 
sidered worthy of notice. It may well be imagined, 
then, how cheering it was, to " turn from this scene of 
inanimate desolation to the two little boats in the 
distance, to see the moving figures of the men wind- 
ing with their sledges among the hummocks, and to 
hear, once more, the sound of human voices breaking 
the stillness of this icy widerness." 

Urged on by the example of their commander, the 
men, in spite of all these discouragements, labored 
with the greatest cheerfulness and good will. All 
hoped, and none more confidently than Parry himself, 
that the rugged ice, over which they were now toiling, 
would prove but the introduction to the smooth con- 
tinuous plain of the main ice, which the accounts of 
former navigators had led them to expect to the north 
of Spitzbergen. Day after day, however, went on, 
and no signs of improvement were visible for some 
distance to the northward, when it became, by degrees, 
painfully evident to both the commander and his 
officers, that another obstacle to the completion of 
their purpose had unexpectedly arisen. This consisted 

* A. species of Arctic bird otherwise known as the " Una Alle," or 
i; littlo auk." 



192 "MEMOIRS OF 

in the southerly drift of the whole body of ice, over 
which they were laboriously tracking their way, owing 
to the wind, which blew steadily from the north or 
north-west. The observations carefully made, at the 
close of each day's hard work, showed too clearly 
that often less than half of the actual distance tra- 
velled could be regarded as progress in a northerly 
direction. This mortifying truth was, for some time, 
kept from the knowledge of the men, who used, how- 
ever, good-humoredly to remark that they were " a 
long time getting to this 83°!*" For a few days 
more they persevered, in the face of heavy snow- 
storms, and torrents of rain, which Parry had never 
seen equalled, but, the drift of the ice continuing as 
great as ever ; he was, at length, compelled to confess 
that further labor were useless. Between the 22 d 
and 26th of July, they had dragged the boats only ten 
or twelve miles, and were, after all, actually three 
miles southward of the point they had reached on the 
first of these days. "In fact," says the author of 
"Voyages within the Arctic Eegions," "the com- 
mander of the expedition, the officers and men, had, 
all of them, been laboriously aud uselessly employed 
for thirty -five days of continuous and most fatiguing 
drudgery, to be compared in its effect to nothing less 
than the labor of rolling the stone of Sisyphus, the 
floe on which they were traversing, as they supposed, 
ten or twelve miles one day, having rolled them back 
again ten or twelve miles, and often more, the next." 
One day's rest was given, for the men to wash and 

* On reaching the parallel of 83° N. lat, the expedition would have 
been entitled to a reward of 1000Z., by Order in Council. 



SIR W. E. PAERY. 193 

mend their clothes, while the officers occupied them- 
selves in making observations in the highest latitude 
which had ever been reached, namely, 82° 40' 23 /7 .* 
At this extreme point of their journey, their distance 
from the "Hecla," after five weeks' travel, was only 
172 miles, to accomplish which they had travelled up- 
wards of 290 miles with the boats. Including, how- 
ever, the journey ings backwards and forwards with 
the stores, they reckoned the whole distance over 
which they had gone at about 660 statute miles, 
" being nearly sufficient to have reached the Pole in a 
direct line." 

It was now the 27th of July ; the day was warm 
and pleasant, forming a cheerful contrast to the 
weather they had lately experienced. " Our ensigns 
and pendants," Parry writes, "were displayed dur- 
ing the day, and, sincerely as we regretted not having 
been able to hoist the British flag in the highest lati- 
tude to which we had aspired, we shall perhaps be 
excused having felt some little pride, in being the 
bearers of it to a parallel considerably beyond that 
mentioned in any well-authenticated record." 

"Between 8 and 9 P.M. on the 27th July, in latitude 
32° 1ST.," (he wrote, in a short note addressed to his wife 
on the spot,) "we dined, with our flags flying in both 
boats, and after dinner, when I had given 'the King, 
God bless him ! ' as a toast to be drunk with a small 
extra allowance of grog, our friend Ross desired to give 
a toast — ' Mrs. Parry ! ' Need I say that it was enthu- 

* The highest latitude actually reached in this expedition was on 
the 23d instant, namely, 82° 45'. 




19-1 MEMOIRS OP 

siastically drunk, with three times three ? The serjeant 
of marines, a very fine fellow, then begged to propose 
the health of Sir John Stanley, also of Mr. Stanley, 
whose prayers, he w T as sure, had been fervently offered 
up for our safety. ... I am sure you will value this 
little account, written under such circumstances, even 
though not at the Pole." 

The next day, at half-past four in the afternoon, 
they set out on their return to the southward, and the 
commander of the expedition spoke the feelings of the 
whole party, in remarking that, "dreary and cheerless 
as were the scenes they were about to leave, they never 
turned homewards with so little satisfaction as on this 
occasion." 

The southerly drift of the ice, which had before 
retarded their advance, was now, of course, in their 
favor, but the actual difficulties of each day were the 
same as ever, and the men suffered much from snow- 
blindness and chilblains, which last became serious 
from the irritation produced by walking, and made 
some of them quite lame. Some excitement was 
caused one day by the sight of a bear, who, however, 
escaped, to the great disappointment of the hungry 
travellers, as they "had already, by anticipation, con- 
signed a tolerable portion of his flesh to their cooking 
kettle, over a fire of his own blubber." To make up 
for the loss, however, another bear was killed by' 
Lieut. Eoss a few days afterwards, when a laughable 
scene ensued. "The animal had hardly done biting 
the snow, when one of the men was alongside of him 
with an open knife, and, being asked what he was 
about to do, replied that he was going to have some 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 195 

of him to put into the pot, which happened to be 
boiling for supper. In short, before the bear had been 
dead an hour, all hands were employed in discussing 
the merits of his flesh." This sumptuous feast was 
followed by the evils of indigestion, as far as the men 
were concerned ; which they, amusingly enough, per- 
sisted in attributing to the quality, rather than the 
quantity of the meat they had been eating. Notwith- 
standing these excesses at first, Parry was really glad 
of this additional supply of meat, having observed 
for some time that the men were not so strong as 
before, and would be the better for more food. An- 
other bear, attracted by the fire, was wounded, but, 
"luckily for us," he remarks, "escaped." 

The southward journey over the ice occupied a 
fortnight, when, at a quarter before seven in the morn- 
ing of the 11th of August, they heard, for the first 
time for seven weeks, the sound of the swell of the 
open sea, dashing with heavy surges against the outer 
margin of the ice; and, in another hour, the boats 
were again fairly afloat. On arriving at Table Island, 
where provisions had been deposited for their return, 
they found that the bears had eaten all the bread, 
which occasioned a remark among the men, in refer- 
ence to the quantity of the flesh of those animals they 
had eaten, that "Bruin is only square with us!" In 
sailing to Walden Island, the boats were caught in a 
severe gale and snow-storm ; and when, after reaching 
the island, they were unloaded, the officers and men, 
who had been fifty-six hours without rest, had barely 
strength left to haul them on shore. A day was spent 
upon the island to recruit the strength of the party ; 



196 MEMOIRS OP 

when they reembarked, and, after some few days of 
bad weather, finally arrived at Treurenberg Bay, at 
half-past four P.M. on the 21st August, after an ab- 
sence of sixty-one days, and were met with that warm 
welcome from all on board the "Hecla," which, as 
Parry truly says, " can alone be felt and not described." 
Considering the constant exposure to wet, cold, and 
fatigue, the whole party were in good health, though 
all had, for some time past, become gradually weak 
and thin, the day's allowance having proved barely 
sufficient for persons engaged in the constant and 
severe labor to which they had been exj>osed. 

On the 28th of August the " Hecla" weighed anchor 
for England, but was so long delayed on the north 
coast of Scotland by contrary winds, that Parry left 
her anchored at the Orkneys, and proceeded, in H. M. 
revenue cutter, the "Chichester," to Inverness, and 
thence by land to London, where he lost no time in 
laying before His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Cla- 
rence, then Lord High Admiral, a report of his pro- 
ceedings. By a remarkable coincidence, Captain 
Franklin returned from his Polar Expedition along 
the north coast of America at the same time, landing 
at Liverpool on the same day that Parry reached 
Inverness. They arrived at the Admiralty within ten 
minutes of each other, and most joyful was this unex- 
pected meeting between the two friends. 

"Admiralty, September 29, 1827. 
" You will be delighted to know that the Duke and 
the Admiralty have received me most warmly, and I 
have already received a letter from the Secretary, ex- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 197 

pressing his Royal Highness's satisfaction at our exer- 
tions. The Duke himself proposed to me a fortnight's 
leave of absence, which I have got " 

Letter from Lord Melville to Captain W. LJ. Parry. 

"Melville Castle, 29th September, 1827. 
" My Dear Sir : Though you have not succeeded 
in the achievement of the main object of your expedi- 
tion, it has, certainly, been from no want of the most 
extraordinary exertions on the part of yourself, and your 
boat's crews. You may, probably, have perceived that 
I was never very sanguine as to the result of the at- 
tempt, and I am not surprised, therefore, that the 
obstacles proved to be of such a nature as even you 
could not overcome. I rejoice greatly at the safe return 
of the ' Hecla ' and her crew, and I have the honor to 
remain, my dear sir, etc., 

" Melville." 

Owing to the continuance of southerly winds, the 
" Hecla" did not arrive in the Thames till the 6th of 
October. On the 17th, the Lord High Admiral in- 
spected her, as well as the boats which had been em- 
ployed on the late expedition over the ice. On the 
1st of November the ship was paid off, and, for the 
last time, Parry hauled down his pendant. The at- 
tempt to reach the Pole had, it is true, been unsuccess- 
ful, but it was still an enterprise, of which all engaged 
in it might well feel proud. " No successor on the 
path of Arctic adventure has yet snatched the chaplet 
from the brow of this great navigator. Parry is still 
the champion of the north." * At this day, through 

* Times, January 20, 1856. 



198 MEMOIRS OP 

the graceful compliment of recent navigators, f the 
land nearest either pole, on which the eye of civilized 
man has ever rested, bears the name of him who un- 
furled his country's flag at a higher latitude than any, 
before or since, have been able to reach. 

Immediately after his first interview with the Duke 
of Clarence, and while the "Hecfa " was still detained 
in the north, Parry, having obtained leave of absence, 
left London, and repaired to Alderley. His arrival 
was expected, and at Monk's Heath, a short distance 
from the Park, where the mail stopped, he was met by 
a large concourse of persons, headed by the Eev. E. 
Stanley, and other members of his wife's family, who, 
with a large body of Sir John Stanley's tenantry, had 
come thus far to salute him on his return. " By this 
time," he writes, " the people in the mail had found 
me out, and really this meeting, under such circum- 
stances, was quite overcoming." Thus, amidst merry 
peals from the tower of Alderley Church, and the firing 
of guns, he reached the Park. About three hours 
afterwards, Mrs. Parry arrived from Sir John's seat, 
Penrhos, in Wales. She had received the tidings of 
her husband's safe return on her journey homewards, 
little anticipating, when she set out, the joyful meet- 
ing which awaited her. 

The fortnight's leave over, he was obliged to return 
to town, and soon afterwards paid a visit to Prince 
Leopold, at Claremont, to which the following letter 
refers : 

f The Parry Mountains were discovered by Sir J. C. Eoss, in the 
Antarctic. Regions, in 1841, and the same name was given by Dr. Kane, 
in 185a. to a mountain visible to the north of Smith Sound. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 199 

" Claremont is a charming place, and I enjoyed myself 

extremely I must not forget the little princess 

Victoria. She is what you would call a very dear and 
lovable child, with manners so ladylike and superior, 
that you would know her, at once, to be something more 
than an ordinary girl, and yet possessing all the innocent 
playfulness and simplicity of a child. She and her mother 
sat down quietly to the piano yesterday, after breakfast, 
and sang, with remarkable sweetness and taste, some 
beautiful German duets, and some Tyrolese airs, which I 
had not heard before." 

In. the autumn of the year after his return from 
Spitsbergen, he spent a brief holiday, snatched from 
the duties of the hydrographer's office, in a short trip 
to the Continent. His nephew, the Rev. Thomas G-ar- 
nier, who was his companion, remembers well " the in- 
terest which his presence everywhere excited, and the 
eager rush, at points where it was known he was to 
appear, to catch even a passing glimpse of the English 
Arctic navigator. At Paris, he was anxiously sought 
out by all the distinguished men who happened to be 
there, and he regretted much, that the shortness of his 
stay rendered it impossible to avail himself of more of 
the flattering invitations he received. One evening 
was spent with the venerable Ouvier, at whose table 
he found himself surrounded by a brilliant circle, chief- 
ly composed of members of the Royal Institute of 
France." At the particular request of the late king of 
the French, then Duke of Orleans, he paid a visit to 
the Chateau of Neuilly, where he was treated with the 
utmost honor, the Duke alluding particularly, and with 
evident feeling, to the kindness his brother, the Comte 



200 MEMOIRS OF 

de Beaujolais, had formerly received from Dr. Parry 
at Bath. In the course of a walk through the grounds, 
" Mademoiselle," the Duke's sister, proposed a boat ex- 
pedition on the lake, and playfully suggested that the 
party should consider themselves embarked, under the 
command of Captain Parry, in an attempt to reach the 
North Pole ! On returning to the house, the Duchess 
presented her children to him, and, for upwards of half 
an hour, he was occupied in answering their . eager 
questions about his voyages. " It was," he writes, " a 
delightful group, as they stood round their mother, and 
I can never forget the sight, associated as it is with all 
the reverses their parents have suffered, and with the 
events of the revolution." Doubtless his memory 
would recur to this scene, when, just twenty years 
afterwards, during his command at Haslar, the wife of 
one of these youthful princes landed at the Clarence 
Yard, a' fugitive from the shores of France, and an in- 
nocent victim of the revolution, which had again driven 
her royal father-in-law into exile. 

Attentions of the same gratifying kind awaited him 
everywhere, during his progress through Belgium and 
Holland. " The mention of his name alone," says Mr. 
Garnier, " was sufficient to secure for us ready admis- 
sion to every building of interest, whether fortress, 
palace, or museum. Public officials seemed to vie with 
one another in showing him respect, and in no instance 
was his travelling luggage examined, or even opened, 
on the various frontiers. During the homeward pass- 
age from Kotterdam, his vigilance and skill were called 
into requisition, and proved, without doubt, the means 
of saving the steamer and all on board. The night 



SIR W» E. PARRY. 201 

was so dark and tempestuous, that many of the pas- 
sengers refused to go below, until it was known that 
Captain Parry had resolved to remain on deck ; and 
well was it for us that he did so. His practised eye 
soon discovered, that the captain had mistaken the 
light on the Goodwin sands for that of the North Fore- 
land lighthouse, so that the ship was rapidly hurrying 
towards those terrible shoals, and it required no little 
firmness on his own part to induce him to alter her 
course." 

Shortly after his return from the Continent, he un- 
derwent a severe trial in the very sudden death of his 
infant son, born soon after his return from the North, 
and then just a year old. He thus writes at this time, 
in acknowledgment of a letter of sympathy from a 
Christian friend : 

"November 12, 1828. 
" The blow has been a sudden and severe one. Our 
beloved child died in his mother's arms, in two minutes 
from the first seizure ! We were at first stunned by this 
dispensation. We had been wrapped up in this darling 
child— in short, it was an idol, and God saw that, in the 
creature, we had not sufficiently kept in view the Crea- 
tor. We had been brought to feel that it is indeed God's 
hand, and that it is good for us to be afflicted. God 
grant that we may be so exercised by this chastening, 
that it may indeed ' yield the peaceable fruits of right- 
eousness !' For my own part, I can already bless God 
that He has spared him all the sin and suffering Ms father 
has gone through, and secured his portion among the 
angels in Heaven." 

And again, a few weeks later, after the additional 
9* 



202 MEMOIBS OF 

affliction of his wife's critical illness at the birth of a 
second child, which survived only a week, he writes : 

" Need I say what have been our feelings during all 
this trial ? Need I assure you that it has brought us 
much, very much, nearer to God, through Christ — that 
it has taught us to feel more assuredly our lost state 
without a Saviour, and the mercy, the infinite loving- 
kindness of God, in providing such an one for us ?" 

Many years afterwards, on the sudden death of his 
step-daughter's first child, he thus referred to his own 
early loss, in a letter to her husband : 
• 

" N~orthbrook, January, 1853. 

"I need not say how our thoughts have been 

drawn out towards you, and to our gracious God for you, 
in this your hour of most bitter trial. I know few things 
so hard for flesh and blood to bear, as the loss of a first 
dear child. The experience has been my own, a first 
lovely babe taken in an instant ! I can sympathize with 
you very keenly in the remembrance of that event, which 
has perhaps been more deeply impressed on my mind 
than any other in my fife, though it happened four and 
twenty years ago. But if I remember the sorrow, I re- 
member also the consolation — the mother still spared, 
the babe with Christ, another lamb gathered into the 
Saviour's fold, safe for ever, happy and glorious in the 
presence of the Lord. May the comforts of God's Holy 
Spirit be abundantly vouchsafed to you, in this, the first 
great trial of your married life ! It will, I am persuaded, 
draw you closer to Him, who hath given, and taken 
away, and then you will together bless God for it to all 
eternity." 



Silt W. E. PAEKY. 203 



CHAPTER IX. 

Appointment as Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company 
— Honorary Degree at Oxford — Voyage to Sydney — Life at Port 
Stephens — Improvements effected in the Colony — Excursions into the 
Interior — Mother's Death — Building of a Church at Stroud — Farewell 
Sarmon at Carrington — Eeturn to England. 

1826—1834. 

It was a remark of Sir Edward Parry, in his later 
years, that the course of his former life reminded him 
of a series of dissolving views, or the unconnected 
images of a dream, so varied were the changes, and so 
strange the contrasts which it presented. Of this nature 
was the new scene on which he was called to enter at 
this stage of his history. The desolate ice-fields of the 
North, and the dreary polar winter, were now to give 
place to the luxuriant vegetation and burning suns of 
an almost tropical climate, and, instead of the compan- 
ionship of a few wandering tribes of Esquimaux, he 
was about to fix his abode, for upwards of four years, 
on the outskirts of an Australian forest, amongst the 
convicts and aborigines of New South Wales. 

In consequence of the mismanagement and neglect of 
the agents resident on the property of the Australian 



204 MEMOIUS OS 1 

Agricultural Company,* the directors had, for some 
time, been anxious to secure the services of some one 
of sufficient ability to restore matters to a proper foot- 
ing, and whose known character and name would, at 
the same time, be a guarantee against the evils from 
which they had before suffered. With these views 
they offered the post to Captain, now Sir Edward Parry, 
for he and Franklin had, on the 29th of April, 1829, 
received the honor of knighthood at the hands of His 
Majesty George IV. For some time past, Sir Edward's 
health had suffered considerably from close attention to 
the duties of the hyclrographical office, and this, com- 
bined with other reasons, had induced him to desire 
some other occupation. All professional difficulties 
were overruled by the kind assurance of Lord Melville, 
that his acceptance of the Company's offer should in no 
way interfere with his future prospects. Accordingly, 
in the spring of 1829, he received his appointment as 
Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company 
in New South "Wales. 

A fortnight before the time of his embarkation, the 
honorary degree of D.C.L. was conferred on him and 
his friend Franklin by the University of Oxford. 
Those who have witnessed the saturnalia of an Oxford 
"Commemoration" will easily imagine the shout of 
honest congratulation with which the roof of the Thea- 
tre would ring, to greet the manly bearing and stout 

* The Australian Agricultural Company was established in the year 
1824, under an Act of Parliament, and incorporated by Royal Charter, 
with a grant from G-overnment of a million acres of land, for the pur- 
pose of promoting the growth of fine merino wool, and other agricultural 
produce suited to the climate of Australia. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 205 

English, liearts of these two brave seamen, and how 
cordially the recitation of the concluding lines of the 
appropriate prize poem for the year would be received : 

" But fairer England greets the wanderer now, 
Unfading laurels shade her Parry's brow ; 
And on the proud memorials of her fame 
Lives, linked with deathless glory, Franklin's name I"* 

He often alluded with gratification to the honor be- 
stowed upon him by this University. " You must not 
forget," he would laughingly remark, if his scholarship 
were called into question, "that I, too, am an Oxford' 
Doctor ! " and would relate, at the same time, that the 
gown he wore was the same as that used by Marshal 
Blucher on a similar occasion. 

A few days before leaving England, he received the 
following letter from Franklin : 

" Gedling Hall, 'Notts, July 9, 1829. 
" My Dear Parry : I can not allow you and Lady 
Parry to leave the shores of England, though it is to em- 
bark in a very interesting pursuit, without once more 
expressing that you will bear with you the hearty good 
wishes and best desires of Lady Franklin and myself, and 
that our prayers will often be offered up to the throne of 
mercy and grace, for every blessing to attend you. We 
shall be especially mindful of you, when we repeat that 

* "Voyages of Discovery to the Polar Regions. A Prize Poem re- 
cited in the Theatre, Oxford, July 1, 1829, by T. Legh Claughton, 
Trinity College." The motto selected for the poem was from Aristoph. 
Acharn^ 

" xeiftepia rd Trpuy/j.aTa" ("Wintry doings these! ") 



206 MEMOIRS OF 

beautiful portion of the Litany, which implores the Al- 
mighty's protection on ' all that travel by land or by 
water.' Let us, too, request an interest in your petitions 
to the same fountain of love, for I feel that there is 
scarcely any portion of Scripture more cheering and de- 
lightful than that which assures us c that the fervent, effect- 
ual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' I am sure 
that you will not consider these sentiments misplaced, in 
a letter addressed to yourself, for they are the dictates of 
my heart. 

" You will have a wide field for the exercise of Christ- 
ian virtues, and I am sure you will have fall experience 
of the delight arising from contributing to the moral im- 
provement, and consequent happiness, of those under 
your command. When I reflect on the change which 
was effected, by my little party, on the habits and man- 
ners of the people among whom we found ourselves, by 
having their various improper acts pointed out, and the 
example of better conduct shown them, and this, too, 
during a hasty progress through the wilds of America, I 
feel convinced that your efforts and attention to the moral 
instruction of those who will be settled around you will 
be abundantly rewarded ; and that, in the evening of your 
life, you will look back upon the portion of your time you 
may spend in Australia with the warmest feelings of 
gratitude and joy." 

On the 20th of July, the ship " William," in which 
Sir Edward and Lady Parry were passengers, left the 
Thames, and he thus wrote to his mother from the 
Downs: 

" My Dearest Mother : You may be assured that we 
are comfortable as possible, and go forth in confident as- 
surance of being under the protection of the Almighty, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 207 

whose tender mercy is over all His works, in all parts of 
His creation alike. . . . We met, at the inn at Graves- 
end, several missionaries, English, French, and German, 
one of whom, Dr. Philip, I knew before, and all of whom 
are going out to Africa, or the East-Indies. They had a 
dinner for themselves and friends, amounting to about fifty 
persons, and, after dinner, Dr. P. came to me, and, in the 
name of all, invited me to come into the room, and see 
those who were just embarking. I did so. They all 
stood up, the moment I entered the room, and greeted 
me cordially. Afterwards, they drank my health, and I 
had to make a little speech, but was too much affected to 
say much ; in fact, it was altogether quite overpowering, 
when I considered what sacrifices these pious and devoted 
men were about to make, for the sake of Christ and His 
Gospel." 

" Ship l William f at sea, Sept. 3. 
. . . " On Sundays we always have our little 
church service on deck. I stand chaplain, and always 
use your dear Bible and Prayer-book in one, which I 
have used in all my voyages for the same purpose. All 
the passengers and crew attend, and I trust it may be 
the means of good to some. Our Captain is an amiable, 
kind, and religious man, which is a very great comfort, 
and every body on board is as obliging as possible." 

On the 20th of October they reached the Cape of 
Good Hope, where they remained a few days ; and, on 
the 13 th of December, the "William" entered Sydney 
Harbor, " of which," says Sir Edward, " words can 
never describe the beauty." He and Lady Parry took 
up their temporary abode at Government House, in 
consequence of an invitation from General (now Six 



208 MEMOIRS OF 

Ralph) Darling, to whom they had carried introductions 
from England ; and, after a few days, he proceeded 
alone to Port Stephens, to arrange matters for their 
future residence there. At the end of nine days, he 
was summoned back by an express, bringing the tidings 
of Lady Parry's confinement with a twin son and 
daughter. On his return to Sydney, he found that both 
mother and children had been in a very critical condi- 
tion, but were now doing favorably under the affection- 
ate and devoted attention of their kind hostess Mrs. 
Darling, to whose fostering care he always ascribed, 
under Grod, the preservation of his little boy's life. 

On the 28th of March, they embarked once more in 
the " Lambton," a small cutter belonging to the Com- 
pany, and arrived safely at Carrington, after a voyage 
of fifteen hours. As soon as the vessel hove in sight, 
signal guns were fired on shore, and shortly afterwards 
a boat put off, manned by the officers of the Company, 
who were desirous of testifying their respect for the 
new Commissioner by roAving him and his family to 
land. At the moment of landing, a salute was fired in 
honor of their arrival, and the Union Jack hoisted on 
the flag-staff. Such was the welcome to their Austra- 
lian home. 

The harbor of Port Stephens, situated about ninety 
miles to the north of Sydney, is guarded at its entrance 
by two conical hills, called by the natives Yacaba and 
Tomare. The estuary itself is about fifteen miles in 
length, and near the centre, is contracted to the width 
of an English mile. Within these narrows lies Car- 
rington or Carribeen* the settlement of the Australian 

* Narrative of the voyage of H: M. S. "Beagle," in 1839, by Captain 
Stokos, R. N. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 209- 

Agricultural Company. Half a mile farther to the 
west stood Tahlee, the residence of the Commissioner. 
The house, a long low building, with a verandah in 
front, was on the side of a steep, grassy slope, with 
lemon and orange trees interspersed, reaching down to 
the water's edge. The front windows commanded a 
beautiful view of the harbor, and of several thickly 
wooded islets with which its surface was studded. The 
ground immediately around the settlement was irregu- 
lar and undulating, and more or less covered with trees, 
which formed the outskirts of one of those forests known, 
throughout Australia, as "the Bush." Through this 
there were no regular roads, or even paths, but the 
native horses were able to make their way over the 
trunks of fallen trees, and inequalities of the ground, 
such as an English horse would shrink from attempt- 
ing. 

Beautiful as was the country in the immediate neigh- 
borhood of Tahlee, these natural advantages were more 
than counterbalanced by the moral aspect of the com- 
munity, over which Sir Edward was now called to pre- 
side. It was, in truth, to use his own words, " a moral 
wilderness," and to the cultivation of this unpromising 
soil he and his wife resolved to apply all their ener- 
gies. The people around them consisted of three dis- 
tinct classes : first, the officers and servants of the Com- 
pany ; secondly, the convicts, working also in the em- 
ploy of the Company, or acting as domestic servants in 
the officers' families, that of the Commissioner himself 
included ; and, lastly, the natives, whose home was in 
the " Bush," and whose encampments were often found 
within a few yards of the settlement. 



210 MEMOIRS OF 

"There are," wrote Lady Parry, " a great number of 
natives about the place, and they have an encampment 
between us and the village, their huts being formed of 
two pieces of bark placed upright against each other. 
They appear to be very harmless, quiet people, quite dif- 
ferent from those near Sydney, who are so very bad and 
horrible looking. I can not, indeed, say much as to the 
appearance of our natives, for they are all hideous, and 
none of them wear any clothing, except some of the 
women, who throw a blanket over their shoulders, when 
they can get one. I am now becoming rather more used 
to this, and I think I may even learn to admire a little 

native black child. I often long for to see the small 

black things, running about like little imps." 

Owing to the neglected state of this part of the colony 
during the administration of Sir Edward's predecessors, 
the condition of the free population, in a moral and re 
ligious point of view, was hardly superior to that of the 
ignorant savages by whom they were surrounded. 
Immorality and drunkenness prevailed to a fearful ex- 
tent, schools were a thing unknown, and, at the first es- 
tablishment of divine service, scarcely a score of persons 
were found willing to attend, and none of the women. 

" It is so new a thing to them," Sir Edward writes, " to 
have any one to take an interest in them, that they hardly 
know what to make of it. They have been wholly with- 
out instruction, and, I fear I may almost say, without 
example, either religious or moral, for more than four 
years, since the first settlement at Port Stephens, literally 
sheep having no shepherd. It can not, therefore, be a 
matter of wonder that they are all rimning wild. This 
applies more particularly to the poor children, many of 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 211 

•whom have not even been baptized ! It is a great plea- 
sure to us to think that we may, with God's blessing, 
prove instruments of much good to these poor people." 

The first step taken towards the introduction of a 
better state of thinsrs was the establishment of a rearu- 

o o 

lar service on Sundays. There was no church nearer 
than Sydney, ninety miles distant, nor any chaplain 
belonging to the settlement. Under these circum- 
stances, Sir Edward fitted up a carpenter's shop in the 
village as a place of worship, and decided on conduct- 
ing the service himself. " His manner," says Mr. Ebs- 
worth, his friend and assistant in the colony, " in con- 
ducting the services of the Church, was remarkable, 
and those who never heard him lost a rich treat. I 
scarcely ever heard the liturgy read with so much re- 
verence, feeling, and apparent delight. He seemed at 
home the moment he entered the reading desk, and 
when reading some more than usually solemn parts of 
a sermon, it was quite overpowering. The fruit of his 
labors will be fully known only in the eternal world." 
He also managed, by degrees, to form a respectable 
choir, the members of which used to meet frequently, 
in his own house, to practise. Under the superintend- 
ence of Lady Parry a school was opened, which was 
soon well attended, and a lending library established. 
The following were written during the first few months 
of their residence at Port Stephens : 

Lady Parry to Sir Edward's Mother. 

" Tahlee House, July 7, 1830. 
"I wish you could see your dear Edward in his minis- 
terial capacity on Sunday, It is not necessary for me to 



212 MEMOIRS OF 

say he does it well, for you can easily imagine how he 
would fill such a situation. God grant that his preaching 
may be blessed to some of these poor ignorant creatures ! 
For four years they have never heard the word of God 
preached to them, and have really appeared to live ' with- 
out God in the world.' There is always now a full con- 
gregation, and, I must say, a most attentive one. Our 
school is also going on as well as we could wish, and we 
have forty-two scholars. No little heathen could have 
been more ignorant, but I hope that, in future, God's 
name and word will be more known and loved than 
hitherto. Earnestly do we pray that this may be the 
case. We must expect to meet with disappointments and 
trials, but^ when we consider whose work we are doing, 
no difficulties ought to discourage us. May God give us 
strength to persevere ! You might, perhaps, suppose that 
our greatest difficulties arise from the convicts, but I must 
say that we have not found this to be the case. The free 
people are far the worst, and most difficult to manage, 
because they think they may do as they like ; and, while 
they set such a bad example, we can not wonder that the 
prisoners do not improve. For the latter we have set up 
an adult school. Some of them wished to learn to read, 
and we were anxious to encourage them, as a means of 
keeping them out of mischief, and amusing them in the 
evening." 

Sir Edward Parry to W. H. Hooper, Esq. 

"Port Stephens, May 13, 1830. 
" I trust we are, by God's assistance, making some reli- 
gious impression. The Bible was sadly neglected, I may 
say almost unknown, before we came. By the liberality 
of our excellent Naval and Military Bible Society, we 
have distributed upwards of a hundred Bibles, and as 



SIE W. E. PAEEY. 213 

many Prayer Books from ' The Society for Promoting 
Christian Knowledge ;' and the more we distribute, espe- 
cially among the convicts, the greater seems to be the 
demand. It has been a great happiness to be able to say 
hitherto to all around us : ' Whosoever will, let him take 

of the water of life freely I I can only add at 

present, send out more Bibles ! I never before so fully 
felt the truth of its being 'indeed the sword of the Spirit.' 
Indeed, in this country, almost more than in any other, 
whatever fruit is breught forth, God shows that the praise 
and glory are, as they ought to be, His alone ; for, to all 
human appearance, and by all merely human means, re- 
formation is impossible." 

The task of reformation proved, indeed, no easy one. 
The almost total want of proper discipline, which had 
previously existed in the settlement, rendered it a mat- 
ter of no small difficulty to introduce a new system of 
order and regularity. This, however, Parry was deter- 
mined to effect ; and though there was, at the outset, 
much to dishearten, his judgment and firmness by de- 
grees triumphed over all obstacles, while the genial 
kindness of his disposition, and bis evident desire for 
the general welfare, gained the respect and affection of 
all. He regarded nothing as too trivial to occupy his 
attention which could, in any way, tend to promote in- 
nocent enjoyment, but sought, on the contrary, to draw 
closer, in little things, the bond which united him to 
his people. He took great interest in the formation of 
a cricket club, and a game was played every Saturday 
afternoon, which was a holiday, and as often in the 
week as a sufficient number of hands could be mus- 
tered. Some of the men were natives of Kent and 



214 MEMOIRS OF 

Hampshire, and were delighted to be thus reminded 
of home and old times. Occasionally, when business 
permitted, Sir Edward would take part in the game 
himself. 

Lady Parry's birthday was always a gala day in the 
settlement, and Sir Edward writes of the first festival 
of the kind : 

" We had a large dinner and ball of all the Company's 
servants resident here, being the first time any thing of 
the kind had been given. Isabella and I danced away 
with them first, to set them going, and then, I believe, 
they would have danced the whole night, if we had al- 
lowed them. Our great object is to make them all so- 
ciable and happy among themselves, which has not hither- 
to been the case." 

The following refer to the Christinas festivities in 
the first year of their residence at Tahlee. 

"December 23, 1830. 
" Yesterday was the breaking up of our school. To 
celebrate the day, and reward the little people for their 
good behavior, we gave them a dinner, after distributing 
the prizes. We had a kind of tent rigged up for the oc- 
casion, on the middle of the flat at Carribeen, which is a 
place something like an English common, in the middle 
of the settlement. The people were all delighted with 
the idea, having had no fetes of any kind since they came 
to the country ; and the head carpenter entered into it 
with great spirit, decorating the place with boughs and 
bunches of wild flowers, which, to an English eye, were 
greenhouse plants, and some of the rarest kind. There 
were flags flying at each end, and an ens%n upon a flag- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 215 

staff a little way off. It had a beautiful effect altogether, 
with the woody scenery around. Fifty-two children sat 
down to dinner, and no Cheshire children could have 
done greater justice to the beef and plum pudding. The 
parents were all invited to be present, and looked as 
pleased as the children. After dinner, we set them to 
play at different games. They have never, as yet, had 
any among themselves, therefore we had to teach them, 
but they are lively children, and soon entered into every 
thing with great spirit. Races for sixpences afforded 
much amusement, and football, at which games blacks 
and whites joined, both old and young. Mr. Ebsworth 
is an excellent assistant, and was quite delighted, him- 
self, to see any thing like an English fete. This was, I 
think, the general feeling. They all said it reminded 
them of England, and was the first thing of the kind 
Port Stephens had ever witnessed. We intend to have 
a day for the prisoners, with wheelbarrow* races, etc., 
that they may partake of the pleasures and gayeties of 
Christmas ; for, though they are prisoners, and many of 
them very bad, encouragement is by no means thrown 
away upon them, and they feel kindness, and improve by 
it as much as other people." 

" December 27. 
" Christmas Day is passed, and, so far, all has gone on 
happily. "We have commemorated it with pleasure and 
interest, though in this distant land, and have endeavored 
to make it as much like English Christmas as possible.. 
We did not wish for your frost and snow, though we did 
wish that the sun had not been quite so hot — the ther- 
mometer being 87° in the shade of our verandah ! Our 
singers had prepared hymns for the season, and on Christ- 
mas Eve we had the carols, which they sang very well 
indeed, going round to all the houses, seventeen in num- 



216 MEMOIRS OF 

ber, where every one seemed quite happy to be once 
again reminded of England. We also had our church 
decorated with evergreens;' we could not get holly or 
yew, but there is a shrub which is very common here, 
like the laurel, only, I think, handsomer, and which quite 
answered our purpose. It was a beautifftl evening, and, 
when we were all sitting out on our lawn, we could not 
help thinking of the difference of your climate to ours 
just then." 

Towards the close of this first year of his residence 
at Port Stephens, Sir Edward, in a letter to Sir John 
Stanley, thus describes the nature of the difficulties he 
had encountered in the colony, and the result of his 
exertions : 

" I may truly say that my official duties have been 
most arduous, demanding all the thought, and temper, 
and decision I can muster, and, now and then, a great 
deal more. I found the Company's affairs, on my arri- 
val, in- a loose and disjointed state, as circumstances had 
led me to expect, and it is only by keeping a tight rein 
that I can succeed in effecting any thing. The conse- 
quence of the absence of strict and systematic govern- 
ment for so long a time naturally was, that any attempt 
to bring things into order, and to put down the innu- 
merable abuses which existed, caused no small kicking. 
I have, however, a tolerable share of obstinacy in my 
composition, and have gone steadily on, inquiring into 
every thing myself, and endeavoring to apply a remedy 
wherever I have found a grievance or an abuse of any 
kind. I have, of course, had many battles to fight, and 
many disagreeable things to encounter, but I hope that 
I begin to see improvement, to encourage and repay my 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 217 

exertions. They begin, at least, to know that they can 
not easily ' get to windward ' of me ! 

" You must not, however, imagine, from what I have 
just said, that all I have been doing is of the character 
above mentioned. I trust we can both truly say that 
nothing which kindness could effect has been left un- 
done, or at least untried. In our character of the par- 
son of the parish and his wife, we have visited, admon- 
ished, and assisted every body within our reach. In the 
truest Christian and missionary spirit, my beloved Isa- 
bella has gone into every cottage, promoting, by every 
means in her power, the comfort of every family, peace 
among quarrelling neighbors, and the temporal and spir- 
itual welfare of every human being around us. She has 
been a mother to the numerous poor children who, when 
we arrived, were running about wild, idling, swearing, 
and going to ruin as fast as possible ; and it is. now a de- 
lightful and cheering sight to see forty-eight of these 
daily receiving education, under her directions and super- 
intendence, and becoming well-behaved and well-in- 
structed children. At a distant station, about twenty- 
five more children are receiving education, for whom a 
regular school-house is now building. My duties as par- 
son have also been somewhat arduous. I have written 
one, and preached two sermons every Sunday — christ- 
ened a great many children (some of them four years old) 
— churched numbers of women — visited the sick — buried 
the dead. In all these things, as indeed in every thing 
else, we trust that a new tone, and a beneficial one, has 
been given." 

The success which attended their efforts for the well- 
being, spiritual and temporal, of those around them, 
together with the domestic happiness of their Austra- 
10 



218 MEMOIRS OF 

lian home, combined to render the years spent at 
Tahlee amongst the brightest of their married life. 
In the regular employment of each day, weeks and 
months flew so rapidly, that, when the time of Sir 
Edward's engagement with the Company approached 
its close, they could scarcely believe that more than 
four years had passed since they landed at Sydney. 
One day varied little from another. Sir Edward rose, 
each morning, between five and six. " It was quite 
enlivening in the morning," says Mr. Ebsworth, 
" when all were well, to hear his footstep, as he came 
from the nursery, singing and whistling in the highest 
degree of delight." With the punctuality which he 
always enjoined on his household, at eight o'clock all 
who could attend met in the parlor for family prayers 
— "no formal ceremony, and few sights more cheering 
to see." Breakfast followed, and the forenoon was 
occupied in writing letters, dispatches, and general 
orders, or in giving audience to the officers of the 
establishment. On the latter he enjoined the same 
punctuality which marked his own movements. If a 
gentleman came after the time which had been agreed 
upon, he would good-humoredly remark, on his 

entrance, "Here comes the late Mr. !" and the 

gentle reproof was seldom taken amiss. An early 
dinner separated the business of the morning from 
that of the afternoon, for his official duties usually oc- 
cupied him until tea-time, to which meal Mr. Ebs- 
worth, or some of the officers, with whom Sir Edward 
was anxious to be on intimate terms, were often 
invited. The evening, if fine, would perhaps be spent 
on the lawn, in front of the verandah, where the 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 210 

spreading branches of a large castor-oil tree afforded 
a pleasant shade. "It is scarcely possible," are Mr. 
Ebsworth's words, "to depict a more delightful family- 
scene than the lawn before Tahlee, on a fine summer 
evening. Chairs for the elder portion of the family 
were placed around a table, on which were grapes, 
melons, and other fruits, which Sir Edward would 
dispense, not forgetting the children, who were usually 
playing about in the smooth grass. I never saw such 
happiness, nor do I ever expect to see it again in this 
world." At other times, Sir Edward would read 
aloud in the drawing-room. "No one," says Mr. 
Ebsworth again, " could excel him in reading, and I 
have heard people remark, on these occasions, that 
' he ought to have been a bishop instead of a sailor ! ' 
Sometimes Lady Parry would play on the piano, Sir 
Edward accompanying her on the violin, or with his 
fine manly voice, which harmonized very sweetly with 
hers." At nine o'clock, all assembled once more for 
prayers, and shortly afterwards retired to rest. 

Sometimes Sir Edward was obliged to leave home 
for days, or even weeks together, to conduct explor- 
ing or surveying expeditions into the interior. At 
these times, the want of his presence was greatly felt 
in the settlement, and other eyes than those of his 
wife would joyfully hail the Union Jack, hoisted on 
the flagstaff close to Tahlee house as the signal of his 
return. " It is not only at the Church services," writes 
Lady Parry, during his absence, " that my husband's 
presence is wanted. I think it is a general feeling, 
throughout the settlement, amongst all parties, that 
nothing seems to go on with spirit when he is away, 



220 MEMOIRS OF • 

and no one looks so contented and comfortable as 
when lie is at home, watching over their concerns and 
interests." 

Of one of these expeditions she writes again : 

"We heard tidings from our absent party three days 
after they left us, and they were going on prosperously, 
having reached the Myall River. They are obliged to 
make short journeys each day, as they are accompanied 
by eight pack bullocks, which carry all their goods, and 
proceed slowly, as they are travelling through an un- 
tracked country, and have frequently to cut their way 
through the bush. Their party consists of twelve, in- 
cluding blacks, of whom they have taken three, as they 
are of great service in the bush, when they fall in with 
other natives. They have two tents to pitch at night, 
and every thing was arranged most comfortably. It was 
like a large caravan moving, when they set out— all the 
bullocks in a string, each laden, and a man to every 
beast, the attendants with guns slung over their shoul- 
ders, and the others riding. The blacks were dressed 
for the occasion, and looked so proud of themselves! 
They soon get tired of their clothes, but always want to 
have them at first, and it is one of the inducements to 
make them go. 

" W*e are now in the middle of winter, but we have 
had no cold at all as yet, the thermometer having never 
been below 50°, but it feels colder here than it would do 
at that temperature in England, from our being accus- 
tomed to such hot weather." 

On one occasion, on a trip to the colliery of New- 
castle, when the party, who were, as usual, on horse- 
back, had to wade through a swamp, the guide re- 



SIR W. E. FABRY. 221 

marked that "there was, after all, a good bottom." 
"No doubt," replied Sir Edward, whose horse, already 
np to the girths in mud, gave a fresh plunge at the 
moment — "no doubt, but I have not found it yet 1" 

Another time the party were caught in a flood, 
produced by the heavy rain. They had encamped, 
for the night, by the side of a creek, and Sir Edward 
was standing at the door of the tent, watching the 
rising of the stream below them, when, all at once, 
he saw the water coming down "like an immense 
wave," and, in a few minutes, they were up to their 
knees in water. The dray which accompanied them 
was made fast to a tree, to prevent its being washed 
away, and the bullocks were turned loose to shift for 
themselves. Such of the party as were able swam 
over the creek, and the rest were hauled across by 
means of a rope secured to a tree on either side. 
These events were only regarded as interesting in- 
cidents in bush travelling, but, in the course of the 
summer of 1831, a circumstance occurred, sufficiently 
alarming in its nature, though very characteristic of 
Australian life. 

Lady Parry to Lady Ml Stanley. 

"December 19, 1831. 
" We have lately experienced another disadvantage of 
a newly-cultivated country, and have witnessed what I 
have only heard of before, and read in Cooper's novels. 
I mean the burning of the woods, and it is, indeed, a 
fearful and extraordinary sight. For the last fortnight, 
the whole country around has been in a blaze, and be- 
tween this place and the Gloucester, a distance of more 



222 MEMOIRS OF 

than seventy miles, there is scarcely a blade of grass left : 
it is one continued black plain, and the stems of the 
trees are all scorched and blackened. We were in hopes 
we should have escaped, near the house, but, after two 
or three days, we saw there was but little prospect of 
our avoiding the general destruction. Just as we were 
coming home from church, last Sunday, a man came 
running to say that the fire had reached his house, and 
was rapidly approaching our garden. Immediately all 
hands were sent off to save the poor garden, and, I am 
happy to say, succeeded, though it was only by a few 
minutes. Edward made them set fire to a broad space 
all round, and this was only just completed when the fire 
reached the place we had burnt, and, finding no food to 
supply its flames, turned off in another direction. It 
was fearful to hear the crackling sound, as it came on 
through the bushes, and the volumes of smoke nearly 
blinded us all. While the fires were raging on the hills 
around, it was a most curious sight at night. The shores 
of the harbor were brightly illuminated, while the large 
masses of fire upon the horizon lighted up the sky all 
round. We shall have plenty of occupation, for some 
time to come, in cutting down the trunks of the burnt 
trees, and the beauty of our domain is quite spoilt for 
the present." 

Carrington was not the only part of the settlement 
which profited from the residence of the Commissioner 
and his family. At Stroud, a village about twenty- five 
miles distant, situated on the banks of the river 
Karuah, a school was also established, under the direc- 
tion of a master brought from Sydney. Lady Parry 
thus describes a visit they paid to this place, the beauty 
of which exceeded even that of Tahlee. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 223 

" Tahlee House, March 17, 1831. 
" On Tuesday last we set off in the boat for Booral, 
one of the Company's farms, about twenty miles distant, 
where the river navigation ends. The scenery is beauti- 
ful the whole way, and I quite longed to get out of the 
boat, every moment, to examine the beautiful vines and 
plants which were glowing along the shores, all quite new 
to me. Our boat, the six-oared gig, had an awning, a 
very necessary comfort with an Australian sun shining 
full upon us. At Booral we remained two hours, and I 

met there an old Alderley acquaintance, Daniel B , 

who had been transported for poaching; and when I asked 
whose pheasants he had been taking, he said : ' Sir John 
Stanley's ! ' Even though a convict, I felt quite kindly 
disposed towards him, and glad to see one whose face re- 
minded me so strongly of old Alderley ! The distance 
from Booral to Stroud is about eight miles, along a most 
beautiful bush road, and in many parts you might almost 
fancy yourself in an English park, the trees being not too 
close, and interspersed with green slopes. I heard, for 
the first time, many of the birds of which I have read — 
the ' bell-bird,' and the ' coachman's whip.' The former 
is always found near fresh water, so that his note is a 
cheerful sound for travellers. We also saw quantities of 
cockatoos and parrots. The situation of Stroud is very 
charming, but I had no wish to live there instead of Tah- 
lee, for the sea is every thing. We paid a visit to every 
cottage, and made the most of our day. I enjoyed my 
expedition very much, though I was not sorry to return 
home, for this is not a country where one likes to leave 
home for long. It is impossible to feel sure that all will 
continue quiet and without alarm, when surrounded by 
such characters, though we have never yet experienced any 
dan «;er." 



224 MEMOIRS OF 

Keference lias frequently been made to the peculiar 
tie of devoted affection that existed between Sir Ed- 
ward and his mother. So acutely had she felt the trial 
of their present separation, that, at first, there seemed 
danger of her health giving way : but, for two years, 
he was permitted to maintain the most intimate com- 
munications with her, although obliged, by the pres- 
sure of official duties, to forego almost all other private 
correspondence. His fondest hope was that, on his re- 
turn home, he might once more embrace this beloved 
parent, and present to her his children born in a dis- 
tant land. This expectation was however, not to be 
realized. In the month of May, 1832, he experienced 
the severe shock of seeing, in the columns of a Sydney 
paper, the announcement of her death. By some acci- 
dent the private letters had been delayed, and greatly 
was the blow aggravated by its coming in so unex- 
pected a manner. Some extracts from his last letter to 
his mother may not inappropriately be here given. 

"Port Stephens, February 1, 1832. 
" Be assured, my dearest mother, that you are very 
much in our thoughts. We may truly say, that some of 
our happiest moments are those in which our thoughts 
and conversation turn upon those we love so dearly in 
England. It is impossible to express how thankful we 
are to receive such continued good accounts of your re- 
stored health ; and we pray, as you do, that, if it so please 
our Heavenly Father, we may all be permitted to meet 
again in England. But we also feel, as you do, that He 
will so dispose every event, that it may be most conducive 
to our good, and to His own glory, and are content to 
leave all that concerns us, entirely and unreservedly, in 



SIK W. E. PAEEY. 225 

His hands Every day of my pilgrimage here con- 
vinces me, more and more, that we should, from the be- 
ginning of life to its end, feel and act as pilgrims seeking 
a ' better country, that is, an heavenly.' To make this our 
home and rest, is to act in direct opposition to the plain 
precepts of the Lord and Master whose name we bear. 
The first and principal business of life ought, unquestion- 
ably, to be a preparation for death, in the manner, and 
by the means, which God has graciously revealed to us 
in the Bible ; and oh ! what unspeakable comfort is to be 
found in that blessed volume ! How wonderful is the 
scheme of redemption through Christ, and how astonish- 
ingly suited to our necessities ! What indescribable con- 
solation to the contrite sinner in that one assurance, that 
t God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, 

and not imputing their trespasses unto them ! ' 

May we all be counted worthy to be written in the 
Lamb's book of life, and it matters little how few, or 
how many, the days »f our pilgrimage may be here on 
earth." 

The following letters, addressed to his brother and 
sisters, were in answer to those containing the particu- 
lars of his mother's cleath. 

"Port Stephens, July 16, 1832. 

" My Deae C : I need not say with what deep 

and solemn interest we have perused, and reperused, 
evey line of your description of our sainted mother's 
death. Dear, tender, affectionate, pious Parent ! as long 
as we have hearts to feel, thy beloved memory will be 
fondly cherished by all thy children ! Deeply as we have 
felt this separation, (for such it is even to us at this great 

distance,) we can not but feel, my dear C , how sel- 

10* 



226 MEMOIRS OF 

fish is our sorrow, and how indescribable the gain to her 
for whom we grieve ! Could we behold and have com- 
munion with her glorified spirit now, what . cause should 
we see for thankfulness and joy on her account ! Her 
long pilgrimage is ended, she has fought the good fight, 
she has finished her course, henceforth there is ' laid up 
for her a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous Judge, shall give her at that day.' .... God, 
of His infinite mercy, grant that we may thus be allowed 
to close our lives, whether long or short, and thus 'fall 
asleep in Jesus,' even as she has done." 

"September 12, 1832. 
" Hard as the lesson is, my dear sisters, for flesh and 
blood to learn, it is most certain that ' whom the Lord 
loveth He chasteneth.' Every day's experience shows 
me, more and more, that affliction constitutes the princi- 
pal means which the Almighty is pleased to employ to 
bring us to Himself, through His Son Jesus Christ, who 
is, emphatically, the way, the truth, and the life. O 
my beloved sisters ! if we are deemed worthy, at the last, 
through His merits and righteousness, to be received into 
the blessed flock of Christ, with what joy and gratitude 
shall we look back on these ' light afflictions,' which are, 
comparatively, ' but for a moment,' and which if rightly 
used, as the infliction of a gracious Parent, will work for 
us \ a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ! ' " 

The want of a regular church and minister becoming 
more and more felt each day, especially as the time 
drew near when Sir Edward's connection with Port 
Stephens would cease, he determined to take active 
measures to s'ipply the need. He felt that he could 



SIR W. E. PAERY. 227 

not leave a better legacy to those over whose interests 
he had so long watched, and whom he was now about 
to quit for ever, than a building consecrated to the ser- 
vice of Him whose glory had been his constant aim. 
A site was accordingly determined upon, not at Car- 
rington, but at Stroud, as being more central, and the 
principal settlement in the Company's grant. Monday, 
April 29th, 1833, was a. day long remembered in the 
colony. At the appointed hour of eleven, a large con- 
course of people from the different villages assembled 
together, when the first stone was laid by Sir Edward, 
and a suitable service, selected for the occasion, read by 
the Eev. 0. P. Wilton, chaplain of Newcastle. " You 
may imagine,' said Lady Parry, " what an impressive 
occasion it was altogether, and what our feelings were. 
xn dedicating this little chapel to God, earnestly indeed 
did we pray that He would send down His blessing 
upon it, and permit His Holy Spirit to dwell in that 
place, and bring forth the fruits of true holiness, so that 
peace, and 'the Gospel of peace,' may reign throughout 
this settlement, when we are far away." 

" Our little church," wrote Sir Edward, after an inter- 
val of two months, " is making rapid progress, and we 
expect the frame of the roof will be up in another month 
or six weeks. God grant that some faithful minister of 
Jesus Christ may be found to preach the word of God 
within its walls ! I think it will cost me nearly — ?., but 
we are not afraid of our ever wanting the money, or our 
children after us. I wish we were more willing to spend and 
be spent in God's service. The time is short, even at ths 
best, and we must £ work while it is called to-day, for the 
nisrht cometh, when no man can work ! ' " • 



228 MEMOIRS OF 

A letter from Lady Parry, just a month later, sho^d 
the pleasing way in which these hopes were realized. 

"August 1, 1833. 
" We have lately had a visit from a person, towards 
whom we feel no small degree of interest. You may im- 
agine the interest we have experienced, in becoming 
acquainted with the Rev. Mr. Price, when I tell you that 
we are hoping to recceive him amongst us as our minis- 
ter, and are going to deliver up the spiritual care of our 
little flock to his charge. We have introduced him to all 
our people, and were very much pleased with his manner 
to them all." 

In the spring of the next year, Sir Edward's engage- 
ment with the Company came to a close, and Col. 
Dumaresq,* a man in all respects such as he would 
himself have selected, was appointed his successor. 
The feelings of regret with which he prepared to leave 
a country, which had been a sphere of such enlarged 
benevolence, and the scene of so much domestic happi- 
ness, were not, as the following letters show, by any 
means unmixed : 



* On the death of Colonel Dumaresq, which occurred a few years 
later, Captain Philip Parker King succeeded to the management of the 
Company's affairs. Captain King, himself a native of Australia, and 
well known as the surveyor of the Australian and South American 
Coasts, had reached his Rear Admiral's flag just before his death, which 
took place February 28th, 1856. This event, which was very sudden, 
caused unfeigned and universal regret in Australia, for, both in public 
and private life, Admiral King had secured the cordial regard and re- 
spect of all. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 229 

Sir Edward Parry to Sir J. Franklin. 

" You will, I am sure, be desirous of knowing whether 
my coming to this country has answered my expectations. 
In point of emolument, I answer that it has. But the 
country is so dreadful an one in a moral point of view, 
and the duties I have had to perform have been often so 
painful, that I certainly should not have undertaken the 
office, had I known what; it was. Still, we have, I trust, 
been the means of doing much good, not only to the 
worldly concerns in which we have been engaged, but, 
we hope, to the religious and moral well-being of our 
little community.' ' 

To F Oresswell, Fsq. 

" Now that we are about to quit this country for Eng- 
land, it almost looks like a dream that we have been 
here at all. We can hardly believe that we have been, 
already, nearly four years and a half absent, and you may 
imagine with what pleasure, and yet with what fear and 
trembling, we now venture to look forward to seeing our 
dear friends at home once more. We can not contem- 
plate our voyage of 16,000 miles, with four little children 
without considering it a great undertaking, but we en- 
deavor to commit them and ourselves unto God, ' as unto 
a faithful Creator ' and Almighty Friend. You will be 
gratified to hear that the affairs of the Company, whose 
concerns I came out to control, are assuming the most 
cheering and satisfactory aspect. I have the satisfaction 
of feeling that my exertions have been the means of 
cleansing an Augean stable, which, even to myself, seemed 
hopeless, for the first two years of my residence in this 
colony. But it has cost me more than the four years I 
have spent here, having told on me like ten." 



230 MEMOIRS OF 

On Sunday, the 9th March, 1834, Sir Edward 
preached his farewell sermon at Carrington. The text 
was from St. Paul's address to the Ephesian elders at 
Miletus, (Acts 20 : 32 ;) and deeply solemn and affect- 
ing must have been the words, which then, for the last 
time, fell from the lips of one, who, like Paul, " through 
evil report and good report," had faithfully discharged 
the trust committed to him, and whose face his hearers 
were now about to " see no more" in this world. Earn- 
estly and affectionately he urged all to ponder deeply 
on the words of eternal life, which, by the grace of 
Grod, he had sought to impress upon their minds in 
that "carpenter's shop;" while, at the same time, he 
humbled himself for what might have been left undone 
on his part. " How different," he said, " must my lan- 
guage be from Paul's ! How many occasions have I 
neglected of pressing on your attention the concerns of 
eternity ! But, though I desire to be humbled in self- 
abasement before you, and in the sight of Grod, for this, 
I may, perhaps, be permitted to say that, during more 
than four years, I have entertained a sincere desire to 
promote your spiritual welfare !" " At the conclusion 
of the sermon," says Mr. Ebsworth, " I was walking 
from Carrington towards Tahlee with Col. Dumaresq, 
when the latter remarked to me, ' I have travelled a 
great deal during my life, and mixed much with men, 
but (pointing to Sir Edward, who was walking a short 
distance in front) in all my travels I never met with his 
equal!'" 

In June, 1834, Sir Edward and Lady Parry, with 
their four children, embarked at Sydney in the " Per- 
sian," and arrived at Gravesend in the following No- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 231 

vember, after a voyage of five months. "I feel it a 
surprise, every time I see Parry," are the words of one 
who met him shortly after his return. " There seems 
to be a power of simplifying whatever comes near him, 
— an atmosphere in which trifles die a natural death — 
a single-hearted steadfastness that does one good to look 
at. He is like a rock in his firmness and fixedness of 
purpose, and yet so ready to take into consideration the 
other side. He spoke with candor and moderation of 
all the people who differed with him in Australia, like 
a man who had too much to do with the practical and 
real parts of things to dwell upon technicalities. I 
was not surprised to find him in such delight with 
' Abbotts Corner Stone,' which he was reading aloud 
to himself, it is so exactly like his own earnest, simple 
sincerity. But I was grieved to see the languor of his 
manner and look, and to hear him talk of not being up 
to a night journey in the coach, or to business of any 
kind, for that he had never felt well since he landed. 
He looks, indeed, as he says he feels, ten years older." 

Towards the close of the same year, the directors of 
the Australian Agricultural Company invited him to 
a public dinner, and presented him with a handsome 
service of plate, in testimony of the high sense they en- 
tertained of the benefits conferred by him upon the 
colony, during his residence there. 

" At Port Stephens," (we quote from one* who 
visited that place some years later,) " Sir Edward 
Parry found a wilderness, but left it a land of hope and 
promise. Long will his name be remembered with 
love and reverence, for services which can never be 

* The author of " The Prisoners of Australia." 



232 MEMOIRS OF 

requited by earthly reward. His reward must be frt/m 
on high, in that recognition of a good and faithful ser- 
vant, who while fulfilling the charge of an earthly 
stewardship, remembered the yet higher trust of a 
heavenly commission, and, planting his Master's vine- 
yard with scions of the ' tree of life,' reared a church in 
the barren deserts of a heathen land. Sir Edward Parry 
labored as a missionary among the convict servants of 
his extensive establishment, contending with a thou- 
sand difficulties ever incident to a spiritual reform. 
He erected a small but beautiful church on the rich 
borders of the calm Karuah, where a flock soon gladly 
assembled, to join in the sweet incense of prayer and 
praise, where never prayer was heard before ; and his 

example animated others to do the like It was 

at the close of a beautiful Sabbath day, that I once sal- 
lied forth for an evening's stroll, and almost uncon- 
sciously wandered to a convict's hut, which stood on 
the borders of the coast. Attracted by the sound of 
voices, as of children reading, I paused to listen, and, 
although too far from the dwelling to hear distinctly, I 
saw, through the open doorway, what was passing 
within. The father of the family, a convict, sat near 
the entrance with a young child on his knee, while 
three older ones were grouped around him, reading 
from the Scriptures, which from time to time he ex- 
plained to them. Unwilling to intrude upon a family 
thus engaged, I returned home, unperceived by those 
who had thus attracted and interested me, but on the 
following day I heard, from the lips of his wife, the 
circumstances of the convict's transportation. Provi- 
dentially, he had been assigned to the service of the 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 2^3 

Agricultural Company, and, under the Christian teach- 
ing of Sir Edward Parry and his wife, had been led to 
see the folly of worldly wickedness, and the deep import- 
ance of those better things, which now formed his 
highest privilege and consolation. These blessings 
were" among the many fruits of the missionary exer- 
tions of Sir Edward Parry and his now sainted wife, 
who both lived in the grateful affections of many a 
chastened heart, long after they had ceased to take a 
personal share in the interests of that far distant colony." 



234 MEMOIRS OF 



CHAPTER X. 

Appointment as Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner — Congham — Death 
of eldest Daughter — Resignation of Office of Poor-Law Commis- 
sioner — Appointment as Comptroller of Steam Machinery' — Death of 
Youngest Child — Assaad Y. Kayat — Death of Lady Parry — " Parental 
Character of God." 

1835—1840. 

Towards the end of the year in which Sir Edward 
returned from New South Wales, a vacancy having 
occurred in the representation of Bath, he received a 
formal invitation, from some of the most influential 
members of his native city, to allow himself to be 
nominated as a candidate for the vacant seat. lie 
had, however, nothing of a party spirit in him, and 
he felt that his previous life had so little qualified 
him for the efficient discharge of Parliamentary du- 
ties, that he had no hesitation in declining so flatter- 
ing an offer. The state of his health, which for some 
time had been much impaired, induced him, at first, 
to desire a period of relaxation from work of any 
kind ; but the prospect of a comparatively idle life, 
even for a limited time, proved so irksome, that, after 
some consideration, he applied for the vacant post of 
Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner in the County of 
Norfolk. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 235 

"Winchester, Jan. 31, 1835. 
" From my late masters (the Directors 
of the Australian Company) I have received the mostf 
useful testimony, because their recommendation affects 
my character and abilities in the management of civil 
affairs ; whereas a very good Polar navigator, in which 
capacity alone I am publicly known, might make a very 
bad Poor-Law Commissioner. As for the work in that 
position, which is said to be most laborious, I have 
worked pretty hard all my life, and do not expect to 
be exempted from hard work, so long as the Almighty 
is pleased to give me bodily and mental power for do- 
ing it." 

• In March, 1835, be received the appointment as As- 
sistant Commissioner, for which post there were up- 
wards of a thousand candidates. The act, passed in 
1834, to remedy the abuses which existed under the 
old Poor-Law Administration, rendered the duties of 
the situation arduous, and often very unpleasant, by 
bringing him into contact with those who were un- 
willing to acquiesce in the new order of things. These 
duties, moreover, involved a kind of migratory life 
from one part of the county to another, which pre- 
cluded the possibility of any fixed residence with 
his family. He was continually obliged to be absent 
from home on business, and, even when there, was 
usually employed from morning till night in official 
correspondence. 

" April 3, 1835. 

" I am hard at work c insensing ' myself, from six in 
the morning till eleven or twelve at night. I have 
dined out nowhere, and am, every hour, picking up some 



236 MEMOIKS OF 

useful information relating to my new vocation. I feel 
it to be an arduous task, but I also feel that in a short 
4ime I shall be au fait at it, and each day I see more of 
its importance, and take a greater personal interest in 
the subject, in proportion as I see with my own eyes 
more of the wretched system which has been tolerated 
so many years." 

At the the end of the first two months, Lady Parry 
writes : 

"MattishaU, June 10, 1835. 

. " It is wearisome work for Sir Edward, 
and I wish he could have a little more repose, but he gets 
on very tolerably with his duties, and though difficulties 
and troubles occur occasionally, he says he sees his way 
very clearly, and seems to be going on satisfactorily ; but 
it requires much more time and caution, as may be ex- 
pected, when so many different characters are concerned. 
Every day's work, and every new place he goes to, makes 
him see more clearly how great the necessity was for 
some change. He finds this county fall of the most 
violent party spirit, but he contrives to steer quite clear, 
and lets them all see he belongs to no party, but is desir- 
ous of doing his duty according to what appears to him 
right, uninfluenced by any political or party spirit. He 
has had one or two very satisfactory meetings lately, and 
we have been told that he has overcome the prejudices 
of several enemies of the new system, in some of the 
parishes he has lately visited." 

The following, from Sir Edward himself, is to the 
same effect : 

"MattishaU, Aug. 8, 1835. 

" It is astonishing how little opposition we have met 
with, considering how mighty a change it is which we 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 237 

are employed in bringing about, and how opposed the 
new measures are to every person's notion on the subject, 
both among poor and rich. In this county, I have the 
satisfaction of finding that the prejudice is fast wearing 
away ; and, though it will, for some time, continue to be 
Up-hill work, I see no real difficulty in bringing the mea- 
sures into complete operation, if the government will only 
support and strengthen us." 

In the early part of the year 1836, they removed 
from Mattishall to Congham Lodge, near Castle Eising. 
This was, on many accounts, a pleasant change ; and 
they found much refreshment and comfort in the 
friendship of the Hon. and Rev. W. J. Brodrick, Rector 
of Castle Rising, and his wife. It soon, however, be- 
came evident that Sir Edward's health was entirely 
giving way under the pressure of work ; and his med- 
ical advisers declared, positively, that total rest of body 
and mind was absolutely necessary. I] nder these cir- 
cumstances, he was at length induced, with much re- 
luctance, to tender his resignation to the Central Board 
of Commissioners in London. In accepting his resig- 
nation, the Commissioners expressed their regret, " on 
their own account, personally, but still more on ac- 
count of the loss of his public services, the value of 
which they had learnt fully to appreciate, from the 
many proofs they had received of the discreet, judi- 
cious, and efficient manner in which he had conducted 
his operations in Norfolk." 

" The commissioners" (he writes to his brother) " have 
behaved in a most kind and handsome way, and evinced 
a very gratifying reluctance to part with me as one of 



238 MEMOIRS OF 

their assistants. But the case has become so clear that 
I have sent in my official resignation, and expect to be 
relieved from my labors, which I require more and 
more. It is comfortable in one sense, but uncomfortable 
in another, to know that my success in this county has 
been considerable. It would certainly, have been more 
agreeable to have reaped the full benefit of my exertions, 
but this can not be helped, as I am so unstrung that I 
must have rest. . . . You will not wonder that I should 
be sick of the very sight of pen and ink, when I tell you 
that for months past, I have been writing about sixty 
letters a week, by way of filling up the intervals which 
can be spared from other duties; the latter involving 
the travelling of 1600 miles per quarter, chiefly in a 
gig." 

The second year spent in Norfolk was marked 
by a severe family trial. The scarlet fever, which 
had for some time raged like an epidemic in the 
neighborhood, visited Congham Lodge, and proved 
fatal to their eldest daughter, Isabella, one of the 
twins born on their arrival at Sydney. Almost im- 
mediately before her death, he wrote to his friend, 
Mr. Cresswell: 

"Congham Lodge, March 4, 1836. 

" My Dear Cresswell : When the event is to take place, 
is only known to Him who orders it, but we have no longer 
any hope of our beloved child's life. Lady Parry has 
had a bitter night, but not the worse — certainly, I should 
say, the better — for having been permitted to see her 
dying child. For my own part, I long to feel that my 
child is safe for ever in the Saviour's arms. You and I, 
my dear friend, well know there is nothing in this world 
for which we should desire to detain her." 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 239 

Her death occurred on the 6th of March, and she 
was buried in the chancel of Castle Eising Church, 
" one of the lambs of Christ's blessed flock." " Them 
which sleep in Jesus shall Cod bring with Him," is the 
motto on the little marble tablet, which marks the 
place of her interment. 

" In the course of about seven weeks, we had thirteen 
cases of the complaint which carried off our beloved 
child, though it was variously modified in different in- 
stances. We had, at one time, seven in bed at once, 
until no more beds could be found, and we had to hire 
almost a duplicate set of servants to supply the place of 
those who were ill, including two nurses. You may 
imagine, therefore, what an hospital our house has been, 
and, as Lady Parry has herself been confined to her 
bed during most of the time, the visiting of every room, 
and the dispensing of all the medicines, fell upon my- 
self." 

They left Congham in December of the same 
year. 

" We dined" (Lady Parry writes in her journal) " at 
Castle Rising Rectory, on our farewell visit. Before we 
left it, we four met in the study, and had a parting 
prayer. We know not when we shall meet again at 
this dear place ; but no distance can separate us from 
such dear friends, and, in spirit, we shall often meet. 
This last day was a very painful one altogether, for this 
place is now endeared to us by a tie which can never be 
broken." 

The clay before they left Norfolk, Sir Edward 
wrote the following to a friend, who had been in 
great anxiety about one of her children, under scarlet 



240 MEMOIRS OF 

"Congham, Dec. 6, 1836. 
" My vert Dear Friend : You were indeed right in 
supposing that I could not leave Congham without a 
parting line. How well do I know (I natter myself few 
people know better) the conflict which your dear child's 
illness has raised in your mind ! The waters have been 
deep and troubled, but I trust that the encouraging 
words, ' It is I, be not afraid,' have sounded in your ears, 
and strengthened your heart, throughout the whole of it. . 
Oh ! the weakness of our faith ! We are not satisfied 
with the dispensations of a Saviour, whom we know to 
be all-merciful, as well as almighty. How exactly our 
conduct resembles that of our children towards ourselves ! 
And, then, to think that our Father can not err in His 
correction ! It is, indeed, a thought full of comfort — all 
His correction working for His own glory, and our salva- 
tion. I trust that this trial has, as I have no doubt it 
has, brought the reality of eternal things more clearly 
before you; for, just in proportion as this is the case, 
are we led to see the love of God in -such events. May 
that love be more and more clearly manifested to you, 
and may you be led to trust Him more unreservedly, 
who is worthy of all our trust, for He is faithful who hath 
promised !" 

The first month, after they had left Congham was 
spent at Alderley. In February, 1837, Sir Edward was 
employed for a short time, by the Admiralty, in the 
organization of the Packet service between the Liver- 
pool, Holyhead, and Dublin stations. For this pur- 
pose, he went down with Lady Parry and one of his 
children to Holyhead, and while he was engaged in 
going to and fro between that port and Dublin, they 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 241 

remained at Penrhos, Sir John Stanley's seat in North 
Wales. This engagement, however, did not last long ; 
and his health soon became so far improved that he 
was anxious to be once more actively employed. 
"While on a visit at Basing Park, in Hampshire, the 
seat of his brother-in-law, Joseph Martineau, Esq., 
an opportunity presented itself. The introduction of 
steam power into the navy had wrought a great change 
in the service, during the quarter of a century which 
had elapsed since he, for the first time, saw an engine 
at work in Portsmouth dockyard. A new department 
was, about this time, formed at the Admiralty, and the 
superintendence offered to, and accepted by, Sir Ed- 
ward, under the title of Comptroller of Steam Ma- 
chinery. As his duties required him to be in close 
communication with the Admiralty, he now, for the 
first time, made a permanent home in London, and 
purchased a house in Devonshire Place. While this 
was preparing for their reception, Lady Parry and her 
children spent a few weeks in the autumn at Worthing. 
The youngest child, born shortly after the fatal illness 
of her sister at Congham — " lent to them," to use their 
own words, " to comfort them for the loss of their be- 
loved child" — had, for some time past, been drooping, 
and much had been hoped from the beneficial effects 
of sea air. It was, however, ordained otherwise ; and 
her parents were, once more, called upon to resign 
themselves, in humble submission, to the decree of a 
higher will. Sir Edward thus acknowledges a letter 
of sympathy from Mrs. Fry, with whom he had, for 
many years, been on terms of the most affectionate 
friendship : 

11 



242 MEMOIRS OP 

"Adniralty, Sept. 16, 1837. 

"My Dear Friend : It was very kind of you to call upon 
me yesterday, and I truly regret having been over at the 
Admiralty, when you came to my office in New Street. 
I need not say how welcome a cordial your sympathy is 
to my dear wife and myself, on such an occasion as that 
of our late loss — a loss for us, for the present — to our 
dear babe incalculable gain. We have now four little 
ones safe, quite safe within the fold, and I assure you 
that we bless and praise God for it. When we see all 
the sin and sorrow around us, we ought to esteem it a 
happiness when our little ones are removed from it all, 
at an age when there can be no reasonable doubt of their 
safety. I am thankful to say that my wife has kissed the 
rod on this, as on former occasions, with ;the sweetest 
Christian submission. She has been enabled to see, once 
more, with peculiar clearness, the love, the tender and 
undoubted love of God, in this trial. She receives it as 
an assurance that she is still His child, and that He will 
not leave her to herself. Hers is the simplest, and most 
childlike faith, and she reaps its promised reward, on such 
occasions as this, ' peace and joy in believing.' 

" On Monday I brought to town the remains of our 
dear babe, and laid them, until the morning of the resur- 
rection, beside those of the two others who died in Lon- 
don at an early period, three in one grave, of whom this 
lived longest ! ' Them that sleep in Jesus shall God 
bring with Him.' " 

T/ie same to F. Cresswell, Esq. 

" What bitter, bitter lessons we need, to bring us to 
God at all ! That we do need such chastisement is most 
certain; for we know that all smaller trials pass away as 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 243 

a morning cloud, leaving no substantial trace behind 

them No matter ho\% rough the way, if heaven 

be the end of it ; only let us make sure work of it, for we 
have no time to lose ; and may every event be blessed 
to .us, whether prosperous or adverse !" 

About this time, Sir Edward took great interest in 
the cause of Christian education in Syria. Assaad 
Yacoob Kayat,* a native of that country, had accom- 
panied the Persian princes to England, in the capacity 
of interpreter. He was then as he confessed, much 
struck with the position held by women in English 
society, and, when he returned to Syria, felt a great 
desire to raise his s countrywomen from their ignorant 
and degraded position. From that time, his Christian 
principles, before merely nominal, ripened into a zeal- 
ous desire to promote the cause of Christianity in his 
own country. In these views he was further encour- 
aged and strengthened by a pious American mission- 
ary, with whom he became acquainted, and the result 
was that he returned to England to gain assistance in 
his labor of love, which he desired to promote especial- 
ly by the formation of schools. At Sir Thomas Trou- 
bridge's house in London, he was introduced to Sir 
Edward, and, ever afterwards, received from him a 
cordial support in his plans. Assaad was, himself, a 
man of considerable intelligence, and in many respects 
well fitted to carry out the benevolent scheme in which 
he had embarked. A society was formed, and in its 
proceedings and results Sir Edward always took a warm 
and active interest. More than once, he invited a large 

* Now English Consul at Jaffa. 



244 MEMOIRS OP 

company of friends to his house in London, in order 
to give Assaad an opportunity of interesting others in 
the cause of Syria. 

" These reunions," says the Rev. W. Niven, honorary 
Secretary of the Society, " were admirably conducted, 
and were marked by a delightful spirit of Christian kind- 
ness and good feeling. On one occasion I well remem- 
ber the presence of the late Mrs. Fry, Mr. Hoare of 
Hampstead, and others, who had long been honored 
laborers in the great field of Christian philanthropy, and 
whose feelings seemed warmly called forth in the cause 
of Syria and her fallen churches." 

Another feature in Assaad's plan was to select a few 
promising Syrian youths, and to send them to this 
country for education. These young men, on their ar- 
rival in England, were hospitably received by Mr. 
Niven, until a suitable home could be provided for 
them. He relates : 

" I took several of them, in succession, to the Admi- 
ralty, for the purpose of introducing them to Sir Edward 
Parry, and I can not forget the truly paternal kindness 
and cordiality, with which he welcomed these young 
strangers. His manner showed me that, as he looked on 
them in their Eastern costume, the remembrance of all 
that we owe to their native country, and the hope that 
they might be instrumental in promoting its regenera- 
tion, were evidently present to his mind." 

The time was now at hand, when Sir Edward was 
to be called upon to undergo a yet more severe trial 
than any which had hitherto befallen him, in the loss 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 245 

of her, who, for nearly thirteen years, had been the 
partner of all his joys and sorrows. In the spring of 
1839, Lady Parry, with her children, who were all 
suffering from severe whooping cough, went down to 
Tunbridge Wells for change of air, Sir Edward's duties 
at the Admiralty allowing him to be with his family 
only for a few days at a time. In May, she was con- 
fined with twin sons, who lived only a few hours, and, 
soon afterwards, it became but too evident that the 
mother's strength was failing, and that she could not 
long survive. In the midst of this severe anxiety, Sir 
Edward wrote as follows : 

"Tunbridge Wells, 3Iay 12, 1839. 
" Your note, my dearest friend, has reached me here 
to-day. Indeed, you would not reproach me for not 
writing, if you knew the deep waters I have been in 
since I saw you, and the deeper still I am now passing 
through. Of my dear wife's state now I can scarcely 
venture to think, much less to write. I believe that her 
precious life hangs on the most fragile thread ; but I 
know that the dear Redeemer's everlasting arms must 
be around His own child, and that c it is well !' I feel 
now that I can do little more than pray, and my faith in 
the efficacy of prayer continues to increase with the 
urgency of my necessity. I earnestly entreat your pray- 
ers, my dear friend. While I write, those of the congre- 
gation in the church are ascending, I trust, to the throne 
of grace for her. May the Lord hear and accept them, 
in the multitude of His tender mercies, for Christ's sake ! 

Will yon kindly write to , and , and earnestly 

desire their prayers ? I need not say how I shall value 
them." 



246 MEMOIRS OF 

Shortly before her confinement, which took place on 
Saturday morning, the 11th of May, her children were 
brought to her. The eldest of these was only nine 
years old, and little could they realize that this was the 
last time they would ever behold her on earth. She 
did not see them again, and, in her weakened state, 
could scarcely bear to speak of them. When Sir Ed- 
ward, who was praying by her bedside, alluded to 
"his dear children on earth," she, with great difficulty, 
exclaimed : " Oh ! no ! I can not bear that !" He re- 
plied, gently, " Yes, my love, we will commit them to 
our Heavenly Father," and she became at once com- 
posed. "Jesus," he continued, "is with you, I am 
sure He is." She replied earnestly but faintly : " He 
is." From time to time, he repeated her favorite texts, 
and among others, " Looking unto Jesus, the Author 
and the Finisher of our faith." "Yes," she repeated, 
" — and the Finisher I" At three on Monday morn- 
ing, the lingering spirit was released. Sir Edward de- 
sired that none but himself should inform his children 
of her death, and gave orders that they should be sent 
to • him, when they came down at the usual time to 
breakfast. The elder ones were, in a measure, pre- 
pared for the announcement by the evasive answers of 
the servants to their questions, but they can never for- 
get the deep solemnity of his manner, as he rose up 
from the sofa, on which he had been lying, and, evi- 
dently with a strong effort of self-command, said : " My 
dear children, it has pleased God to take your dear 
mamma to Himself!" He then laid his head once 
more on the sofa, and gave way to his sorrow, as they 
had never seen him do before. He soon, however, re- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 247 

covered himself, and, rising once more, led the way 
into the chamber of death. There, while all knelt 
around the bed, he poured forth his full heart to God, 
praying that this chastening might bring forth " the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness" in his now desolate 
home. She was buried at Tunbridge Wells, and a 
tablet was erected, in Trinity Church, bearing the same 
text which she had herself selected for the resting- 
place of her little girl in Castle Eising church, 1 Thess. 
4 : 13, 14. That he himself was not one of those who, 
"sorrowed without hope," and that to him, at least, 
the consolations of religion were a living reality, the 
following letter, written at this time, plainly shows : 

"Admiralty, 3Iay 24, 1839. 

" My Dear : Your kind and Christian sympathy 

is indeed most soothing and welcome under this heavy 
bereavement, and I sincerely thank you for it. You 
have pointed to the only source of consolation — to Him 
who is, emphatically, ' the God of all consolation.' Bless- 
ed be His name, I have found Him on this occasion 
faithful to His promises, ' a very present help ' hi my time 
of trouble. No words can express the comfort derived, 
at such a time, from the confident assurance that rny 
beloved wife was a true child of God, and that, therefore, 
she is now in the bosom of her Saviour whom she loved, 
safe, with six of our little ones, in the Redeemer's fold, 
and for ever ! " 

After the death of his wife, Sir Edward continued 
to reside in London, his sister living with him, and 
undertaking the charge of his four children. The 
following is addressed to the eldest, during his first 



248 MEMOIRS OF 

half year at school, and is a sample of the way in 
which he ever strove to keep alive in their minds the 
memory of her whom they had lost, and to impress 
upon them the necessity of walking with God : 

" Tunbridge Wells, May 13, 1840. 

" My Dear E : I do not know whether I told you 

that I hoped to spend this solemn day here ; if not, you 
will be surprised at the date of this letter. I felt that I 
should be happier here than anywhere else, on the re- 
turn of the day when it pleased God to take your pre- 
cious mother from us, and to receive her to Himself for 
ever. I am now writing very near her tomb, at which, 
as well as in the church, I have spent some quiet and 
pleasing hours to-day. I have also been putting to rights 
the little shrubs at the two ends of the tomb. It is a 
very great gratification to me to be here on this day, and 
I wish, my Clear boy, to remind you, on this occasion, 
of all your dear mother's anxious desires and earnest 
prayers for your welfare — most especially, your spiritual 
and eternal welfare — the good, not merely of your body, 
but of your never-dying soul. I earnestly hope that 
those prayers will be abundantly answered, and that you 
will not fail to add your prayers to hers. You are now 

of an age, dearest E , to think seriously of your soul, 

and to read your Bible with a sincere desire to become 
' wise unto salvation.' God bless you ! 

" Your most affectionate Father." 

Some years before this time, Sir Edward had em- 
ployed his few leisure moments in noting down, as 
they occurred to him, thoughts on the character of 
God as our Father. Ilhis occupation he had latterly 
laid aside, under the pressure of official business. In 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 249 

the course of the year after Lady Parry's death he 
again took it up, and his evenings at home were 
generally employed in completing the treatise, and 
preparing it for the press. He used to sit at the table 
in the drawing-room, with his children round him, 
and employed them occasionally in searching out the 
chapter and verse of any text to which he had occa- 
sion to refer. In this occupation he took great plea- 
sure, the subject being one of which his heart was 
full, and, moreover, connected in his mind with the 
memory of her, whose loss had led him to see more of 
the love of God in His dealings with His children. 

"Three years ago," (he says in the preface to the 
"Parental Character of God,"*) "I was encouraged 
and assisted to begin writing down, as they occurred, my 
thoughts on the parental character of God, by one, who 
was not only the chief comforter of my earthly pilgrim- 
age, the sharer of every joy, and the alleviator of every 
sorrow, but a faithful counsellor, companion, and friend, 
through many a rough and stormy path in our journey 
(as I trust) towards a better and more enduring inherit- 
ance. She has since been called to possess that inherit- 
ance, to behold face to face the Saviour, whom not hav- 
ing seen she loved, and to realize the glorious promises 
made to the children of God. I now, in accordance with 
her expressed wish, print these thoughts, which have in- 
fused no small comfort into my own cup, in the humble 
hope that they may not be without use to others, and, 

* This little volume was, at first, printed for private circulation only, 
but afterwards published by Hatchard and Sons, Piccadilly. It has 
since been translated into French and German. 

11* 



250 MEMOIRS OF 

above all, that they may, in some degree, show forth the 
praise, and promote the glory of Him, who is emphati- 
cally ' the ^Father of mercies, and the God of all com- 
fort.' » 



SIR W. E. PAKHT. 251 



CHAPTER XL 

Second damage —Caledonian Canal — Eemoval to Hampstead — Reli- 
gious Chattier — "Views on the Importance of Prayer — Rugby — 
Public Meetings — Religious Influence — Lowestoft — Homburg — Re- 
signation under anxiety and suffering — Duties at Admiralty — " Ere- 
bus" and "Te¥AA ,n — Letter from Franklin. 

1841—1845. 

Otf the 29th of June, 1841, Sir Edward Parry was 
married to Catharine Edwards, daughter of the Eev. 
R. Hankinson, Rector of Walpole, Lynn, and widow 
of Samuel Hoare, Jr., Esq., of Hampstead. In this 
second period of his married life, he felt, each day, 
increasing cause of thankfulness to Him who had thus 
permitted him to fill the void which had been left in 
his heart and home, and to supply, to an extent not 
often witnessed, the loss which his children had ex- 
perienced in their mother's death. 

In the course of the autumn of the same year he 
was employed, by Sir Robert Peel's government, in 
drawing up a report on the state of the Caledonian 
Canal, and the advantage which might result from 
opening its waters to larger vessels. This involved a 
visit, not merely to the canal itself, but also to the 



252 MEMOIKS OP 

chief seaports of Scotland and the north of England, 
where he was occupied in gathering evidence from 
those persons who might be expected to profit most 
by the proposed measure. The duties of each day 
were sufficiently arduous to occupy his whole time, 
and he confessed that the responsibility and work, 
which devolved on him singly, might with advantage 
have been intrusted to "three commissioners, with all 
their paraphernalia of secretaries and clerks, rather 
than to one person." 

"I have, "he writes on his return, "been marvellously 
preserved, prospered, and helped, in the business of my 
late excursion, having travelled 1600 miles without one 
accident or delay, examined and recorded the evidence 
of more than a hundred persons, and been at work 
every week-day, from seven in the morning till nine at 
night." 

The report drawn up by him, after this survey, 
resulted in the completion of the Caledonian Canal, 
which was reopened in April, 1847, and has been 
in operation since that time, with all the advantages 
of increased depth of water, and other accommoda- 
tions for the transit of larger vessels. 

In April, 1842, Sir Edward let his house in London, 
and came to reside at Heath End, Hampstead, for the 
benefit of his health, which for some months had been 
seriously impaired. The additional distance from his 
office at . the Admiralty was compensated by the gain 
of fresh air and greater retirement. "I can not ex- 
press," he wrote, "how I continue to enjoy, and, I am 
sure, to profit by, the lovely views from Hampstead, 



SIK W. E. PAEEY. 253 

and its charming air." Among the advantages of this 
change of residence he always reckoned the friendship 
and ministry of Lady Parry's brother, the Key. E. E. 
Hankinson, incumbent of Well- walk Chapel, and his 
letters contain frequent mention of his visits to u the 
dear people at Elm Eow," as a source of peculiar plea- 
sure. 

The five years of Sir Edward's residence at Hamp- 
stead present few events worthy of notice. We have 
not now to record his conduct amid the stirring scenes 
of a polar voyage, or while holding a responsible and 
honorable position in a distant colony. It remains for 
us, here, to exhibit other features of his character, which 
can scarcely fail to be equally interesting to many ; to 
portray the private life of an English gentleman — of 
one, in whom consistent piety was the predominant 
principle, and whose influence was ever ready to extend 
itself beyond the inner circle of his own more immedi- 
ate interests and occupations. 

The first point to be noticed is the prayerful spirit in 
which he entered upon all the duties of life, and which 
pervaded his whole conduct. 

When, after some hesitation in the choice of a public 
school, he had determined upon sending his eldest son 
to Kugby, he was not content with providing merely 
for his temporal welfare. Soon afterwards, he took 
the lead in drawing up an address to the parents and 
guardians of Kugby boys, proposing that a special 
time in each week should be set apart for the purpose 
of offering up, in private, their joint petitions for the 
welfare of the school in general, and their own children 
in particular. This address formed the model for a 



254 MEMOIRS OF 

similar proposal of " Union for prayer in behalf of the 
Navy," which he drew up some years later, and in 
which he was joined by several distinguished naval 
officers. 

Another no less striking example of the importance 
he attached to the efficacy of prayer will be found in 
his conduct with regard to the public meetings of the 
various societies which at this time he attended, when 
his official duties would permit. He was not content, 
as too many frequently are, to take his place unprepared 
on the platform, or, relying on habitual fluency of 
speech, to leave even the words of his address to the 
happy inspiration of the moment. The spirit in which 
he entered upon such duties is manifest in the folio wing ; 
addressed to Lady Parry : 

" You must not think yourself cheated, if I send you 
but a shabby scrap to-day, when I tell you that, never 
liking to enter lightly upon saying even a few words at a 
religious meeting, I have been occupying an hour or so, 
this morning, in thinking and praying over the little I pro- 
pose to say to-morrow evening. I always think this due 
to the holy cause which such a society as the Missionary 
has in view, and I know you will understand and appre- 
ciate this feeling," 

And, on another occasion : 

" Will you be sure to be with me, very specially, in 
prayer, at six precisely to-morrow evening, that I may 
have words, and power, and grace to plead our Master's 
cause, in the spirit of our Master Himself?" 

It would have been strange, indeed, had such a spirit 
oeen content to confine itself to his own familv, or to 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 255 

an occasional speech at a religious meeting. We find 
it, accordingly, seeking a yet wider range, and extend- 
ing its influence in an earnest desire to employ all his 
energies, wherever he might be, whether in business 
or recreation, in the service of his Master, and in aiding 
the efforts of others in the cause of true religion. ' ' His re - 
sidence with us," writes the Eev. F. Cunningham, of a 
summer visit to Lowestoft, in 1844, " was so marked 
by his graciousness and benevolent pursuits, that the 
whole population became interested in him. His de- 
parture by the steamer I have not forgotten, for it was 
one of much feeling on both sides. His stay with us 
was, I may truly say, a time of instruction to us all." 

The following was written by Sir Edward, after his 
return from Lowestoft : 

"Admiralty^ August 21, 1844. 
" My Dear : You will have gathered from C- 



communication that our visit to Lowestoft answered more 
than well. It was a prosperous, privileged, and delight- 
ful one. Those most dear people at the Vicarage are so en- 
tirely after our own hearts, that we seemed to live in an 
atmosphere of constant enjoyment. Enjoyment, how- 
ever, often involves responsibility, and I am sure we ought 
to feel this deeply, considering the remarkable spiritual 
advantages we were receiving at that delightful place. I 
never saw any thing like the unbroken chain of laborious 
pastoral work, which is there going on every day, from 
morning to night. It is a constant succession of faithful 
effort for the salvation of souls, and this not only by them- 
selves, but by the many instnments which, as you know, 
it is their peculiar forte to raise up and cultivate. It is, 
indeed, almost impossible not to desire to help such peo- 
ple in their work and labor of love !" 



253 MEMOIRS OF 

We have, here, the key to his conduct on all such occa- 
sions, namely, a firm conviction that seasons of leisure 
have their duties, no less than the hours spent in the 
office. Another instance of the kind is afforded in the 
following, written from Homburg, in Germany, to 
which place he had gone, in the next year, for his an- 
nual holiday : 

"ITomburg, July 17, 1845. 

" We have had a most charming walk to a little village 
called Dornholzhausen, ahout a mile and a half from Hom- 
burg, to visit the delightful pastor of a French congrega- 
tion, resulting originally from the revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes. His name is Privat, a pious, laborious, simple- 
minded minister of Christ. He is a Swiss, from Geneva 
I believe, and has been here three years, on a salary of 

only 33£. Mr. K , who was with us, and who belongs 

to the Committee of the Foreign Aid Society, was very 
desirous of ascertaining whether any thing could be done 
for religion in this place. M. Privat named two things, 
which may possibly be effected if attempted cautiously : 
first, a colporteur to dispose of the Scriptures ; secondly, 
to place Bibles in the rooms of the several hotels. To 
these two objects we propose now to direct our attention, 
with M. Privat's help, and, if we find that money is 
wanted, I think we can easily raise a few pounds for this 
good work. 

" When we rose to take leave of our good minister, he 
said : ' Can you spare one or two minutes longer, that we 
may pray together ? ' To this we, of course, joyfully 
consented, and nothing could exceed the sweetness and 
spirituality of the prayer, which he offered up in English. 
We took leave of him, as you may suppose, with no ordi- 
nary feelings of Christian love, leaving with him some 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 257 

French and German tracts, and a German copy of my 
little book.* Truly, that village is a pleasant little oasis 
in this spiritual wilderness, and very fervently did dear 

T G remember the pastor and his flock in our 

family prayer this morning." 

On his return to England, he succeeded in raising a 
sum of money for the increase of M. Privat's salary, 
" as an expression of Christian sympathy, and to enable 
him more efficiently to discharge the duties of his sacred 
office." A grant of copies of the New Testament, in 
French and German, was also obtained from the British 
and Foreign Bible Society, which the landlords of the 
different hotels in Homburg undertook to place in their 
rooms, as Sir Edward had desired. 

In the midst of these labors of love and usefulness, 
the crowning grace of his Christian character, calm trust 
and submission in the midst of anxiety and suffering, 
was made to shine forth most brightly under the pres- 
sure of a two-fold trial, of the severity and extent of 
which only his most intimate friends were fully aware. 

During his residence at Port Stephens, he had in- 
vested a sum of money in the Bank of Australia, and 
intelligence now reached England of the failure of that 
concern, owing to the negligence or fraud of the direc- 
tors. The bankruptcy of the proprietors resident in 
the colony made it evident that the whole pressure 
would fall heavily on the English shareholders. For 
some months, he was kept in a state of the most pain- 
ful suspense, while, to use his own words, "bankruptcy 
stared him in the face, and that without fault or impru- 
dence on his own part." It must be remembered that, 

* The "Parental Character of God." 



258 MEMOIRS OF 

at that time, the question of limited and unlimited lia- 
bility was not understood as it is now. 

The prospect of serious pecuniary embarrassment 
was not, however, the only trial which he had to bear 
at this period. For some time, he had been threatened 
with symptoms of a malady of the most painful and 
alarming nature ; and, in the early part of the year 
1845, he underwent an operation, which was attended 
with complete success. The following letters, written 
at this time, exhibit a striking picture of Christian sub- 
mission under this severe personal discipline. 

"Admiralty, January 1, 1845. 
" Many thanks, my dear H , for your kind remem- 
brance of me and mine at this blessed season. I truly 
rejoice that you and yours are enabled to say : ' Surely 
goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our 
life ! ' From my heart, I can respond to this declaration. 
Our path has been strewn with thorns, and clouds still 
rest upon our horizon ; but, in the midst of these, we 
have been, and still are, sustained by seeing a Father's 
tender hand in every trial, and by the certain assurance 
that He will make all things work together for our best 
good. A painful complaint, and a fearful apprehension 
of bankruptcy, are no small trials of ' mind, body, and 
estate,' and yet I can, with sincerity, aver that I have 
never known more of the 'peace of God which passeth all ' 
natural ' understanding,' than since these visitations have 
come upon me. I trust this is because our minds are 
staid upon God." 

" Dearest Lady : You will grieve at my account 

of the Bank of Australia, but it is the Lord's will ! We 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 259 

English shareholders are equally innocent of the catas- 
trophe, and helpless under it. It is not pleasant to flesh 
and blood to have the prospect of ' beginning the world 
again,' as it is called, at the age of fifty-three, and after 
a life of toil ; but I do not believe my children will ever 
be suffered to want, and, as for myself, 4 the time is 
short ! ' " 

" London, February 16, 1845. 
" My Dearest Children : It is rarely that I write a 
letter on a Sunday, but I think I may be permitte. 
pen a few lines to you this evening, for I long to tell yc 
how thankful I am to the Giver of all good, our gracious 
and heavenly Physician, for the success which He has been 
pleased to give to the means used last week for the resto- 
ration of my health. I desire to ascribe it all to His un- 
merited goodness, and to devote myself more entirely to 
His service, who has dealt thus tenderly with me : and 
may you also, my dearest children, feel, both now and 
ever, that ' every good and every perfect gift cometh 
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variable- 
ness, neither shadow of turning ' ! I have not been al- 
lowed to go out yet, but this is only a matter of precau- 
tion, as I feel perfectly well. There is, however, a good 
deal more to be done for me, and I do not expect to be 
released till the end of this week. I am, myself, getting 
very homesick, and long to see you all again, but God's 
time is the best time for this and every thing." 

" My Dearest Mrs. H : You will be sorry to 

hear that an adverse judgment has been pronounced by 
the Privy Council in our long-pending case of the Austra- 
lian Bank, and we propose to call a meeting of our pro- 
prietors to consult as to what can be done by us. The 
affair has now, as you will perceive, reached a very serious 



260 MEMOIRS OF 

point, involving to ourselves individually — we know not 
what ; but oh ! could you see what peace has been vouch- 
safed to us in this trial, you would rather envy than pity 
us under it ! Indeed, it has been a season of refreshing, 
strengthening, I trust I may say of holy confidence in our 
gracious God, and an abiding assurance that this trial 
comes not from man's hands, but from Him who ' makes 
all things work together for good to them that love Him.' 
We both desire not to be permitted to say one word, to 
ne act, or to think one thought, in this grave matter, 
xt what is agreeable to God's own mind and will, and 
ohat He will bless and sanctify it to us, and our dear 
children. 

" "What a mercy that this trial is not the consequence 
of sin, and that God has been pleased to chasten us in 
this manner rather than by bereavement ! In short, my 
dear friend, we are not only submissive, but joyful under 
this blow, and though we are aware that the worst is 
really yet to come, we trust and pray to be preserved in 
the same faithful spirit, and to be enabled to glorify God 
even in the fire, and to adorn His doctrine in all things. 
We earnestly ask the prayers of our friends that this may 
be given us, and all the rest we cheerfully and thankfully 
leave in His hands, who is willing and able to undertake 
for us in every time of need." 

Strikingly did he experience that the faith, now so 
strongly exercised, was not in vain. After an interval 
of some months, matters were so arranged with respect 
to the Bank of Australia, that his personal loss, though 
heavy, was considerably less than he had feared ; and, 
singularly enough, some years later, he recovered from 
Australia itself nearly the whole amount of his loss, by 



S1E W. E. PAEEY. 261 

the sudden and unexpected rise in the value of pro- 
perty which he held in the Peel Eiver Settlement. 

These letters afford, in themselves, sufficient proof 
that the religion, which could produce the fruits of 
such unshaken and unquestioning resignation to the 
will of Grod, must have been grounded on something 
more than merely general principles of piety. The 
next, addressed to a friend in whose spiritual welfare 
he took especial interest, shows, yet more strongly, 
the nature of the foundation on which his hopes 
rested, and may be regarded as a confession of faith 
on the part of the writer himself. 

" Mi veet Deae Feiend : The description of your 
present state of religious feeling is most interesting to 
our hearts, and we truly and warmly sympathize in all 
you say about it. "We have, in fact, watched your mind 
and views, in this most important particular, with greater 
attention and hiterest, for years past, than you are your- 
self aware. We were solicitous about you on this score, 
because we had observed that, with a devout and pious 

mind, the ministry at had exercised a decidedly 

bad influence upon you. Your regard for the minister 
had plainly led you to accept, too readily, the doctrines 
of his ministry, which we believe to be essentially erro- 
neous. 

" The doctrine of Sacramental Grace, though very ac- 
ceptable to the natural heart of man, is, clearly, a device 
of the devil to ruin souls. It is much easier to accept 
the Sacraments as the way to heaven, than to receive 
into the heart, by humble faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
svlio ordained the Sacraments. The ' Tractarians ' utterly 
lose sight of Christ himself, out of an erroneous rever- 



262 MEM01KS OP 

ence for His ordinances. In short, the whole doctrine 
which they uphold, and which has sent Manning, and 
many other earnest men and women, to Rome, degrades 
Christ, and sets up the ministry, and the ordinances, and 
man's own poor miserable works in His place. You 
have found that this doctrine can never give peace to 
the conscience, and comfort to the soul convinced of sin. 
No, my dear friend, there is nothing but the blood of 
Jesus Christ that can cleanse from sin, there is nothing 
but simple, humble, childlike faith in His all-sufficient 
merits, and all-prevailing intercession, that can afford 
consolation, hope, peace ! ' Joy in believing,' is the only 
real joy to be obtained by man in this life, because faith 
is the only source of joy which God has been pleased 
to promise and to open to man. Jesus is 'the Way, 
the Truth, and the Life ! ' Let us seek no other way, 
my dear friend, nor mix up any other ingredient, so to 
speak, in the hope of our salvation — Jesus, ' the Author 
and Finisher of our faith.' And let us constantly seek, 
by prayer, the aid of His Holy Spirit, that best ' gift,' 
which He has 'received for men,' and which He has pro- 
mised to give to them that ask Him. May that gift be 

ours, my dear , inclining us to keep close to the 

Saviour, and to be ever looking unto Him as our Refuge, 
our Hope, our All in all ! Ever believe me, 

" Your truly attached friend in Christ, 
"W. E. Parey. 

Our object, thus far, has been to give the reader 
an insight into the private life and character of Sir 
Edward Parry. It must not, on that account, be 
supposed that the years of his life at Hampstead were, 
in any way, a season of leisure or retirement. On the 
contrary, the duties of his office, at first sufficiently 



SIR W. E. PAEEY. 263 

arduous, became each day more laborious. Since the 
time of his appointment as Comptroller of Steam 
Machinery, the application of steam-power in the 
Navy had become almost universal. Among the 
most important improvements effected was the intro- 
duction of the screw-propeller, now justly regarded as 
indispensable in every man-of-war. Those who took 
an interest in this invention, and were, consequently, 
able to form a judgment on the subject, acknowledge 
that its success in the Royal Navy (which led to its 
adoption in the merchant service) was, in no small 
degree, owing to Sir Edward's constant and earnest 
advocacy. Certainly, few were more sanguine in their 
expectations of its ultimate success, and none more 
energetic in the support of its claims at the Admi- 
ralty. 

The year of the visit to Homburg, of which men- 
tion has been made, was one ever memorable in the 
history of Polar enterprise, being marked by the 
sailing of the. ill-fated "Erebus" and "Terror" from 
the Thames, on the 26th May. In all the prepara- 
tions for this expedition Sir Edward took an active 
part, being consulted by the Admiralty on all points 
of importance connected with the fitting out of the 
vessels. It may be imagined with what eager interest 
he regarded the departure of his friend Franklin on a 
service, "to which," as he once expressed himself, "he 
had devoted the best years of his own life." On his 
return from Homburg, in the autumn of 1845, he 
found awaiting him the following letter, written by 
Franklin just a fortnight before the "Erebus" and 
"Terror" were seen, for the last time, by a whaler, 



264 MEMOIRS OF 

waiting for an opening in the ice, to enable them to 
reach Lancaster Sound. 

" Whale Fish Island, July 10, 1845. 

" My Dear Parky : Having had the pleasure of see- 
ing the last cask of provisions hoisted from the transport 
into the ' Erebus,' I have come down to write to you. 
We are now, in every way, full and complete for three 
years, but of course, very deep, and should draw seven- 
teen feet, when the boats and anchors are up. The mag- 
netic men were landed with their instruments, as were 
also the other observers, on the Boat Island, at the spot 
you occupied, and you can fancy them all in full play. I 
am happy also to tell you that their results give the lati- 
tude and longitude of their position within a few seconds 
of those you assign to it. 

" I find that the principal people are absent from Disco, 
so that I have had to obtain whatever information about 
the ice to the north, that is to be picked up here, from a 
Danish captain, who is in charge of the Esquimaux at 
this station. 

" Nothing can be liner than the weather we have had 
here for all our operations. I think it must be favor- 
able for the opening of the ice, and we all feel happy in 
the idea that we shall be quite in time to avail ourselves 
of any openings westward of Barrow's Strait. During 
my passage from England, I have carefully read over 
parts of your voyages, as well as some notes of Richard- 
son's and my own, which were made on the occasion of 
Back's expedition, deduced from our previous observa- 
tions at, and about, Point Turnagain ; and I am inclined 
to think from these, and from the observations of Dease 
and Simpson, that there exists much land between 
Wollaston and Banks' Lands, which, I hope, may be 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 265 

found to be separated into islands ; and, if so, I trust we 
may be able to penetrate through a channel between 
them. 

" It would do your heart good to see how zealously 
the officers and men, in both ships, are working, and how 
amicably we all pull together. Knowing what an ex- 
cellent instructor and fellow-worker Crozier was, and 
will prove, to Fitz-James, I have left the magnetic ob- 
servations of the 'Erebus' to the latter, who is most 
assiduous respecting them. I have also endeavored to 
encourage each of the officers to take some one branch 
or other under his more immediate care, from which, I 
trust, he will ultimately reap real, substantial benefit, so 
that my. share of the work, at present, seems to be more 
the training and overlooking of these gentlemen than 
doing the work itself. I have now, for instance, at the 
tables in my cabin, a lieutenant constructing the plan of 
the survey he has made of the islands of which this 
group is composed, and Mr. Goodsir, the assistant-sur- 
geon and naturalist, with his microscope minutely ex- 
amining, and sketching the Crustacea Molluscae, and 
which he describes at once, whilst the colors are fresh. 
He is very expert at dredging, and has found many rare, 
and some unknown creatures, with too long names for 
me to write. Beyond this table lie lots of skinned birds, 
the handiwork of the surgeon, who is skilled in such sub- 
jects. Around the deck of the cabin are arranged the 
ships' stores of preserved potatoes, packed in neat tin 
cases. "With the above description you will be able to 
bring me before your mind at this moment, and, in 
turning my head, I recognize you, like as life, in your 
picture. 

"Again, my dear Parry, I will recommend my dearest 
wife and daughter to your kind regards. I know that 

12 



266 memoirs or 

they will heartily join with many dear friends in fervent 
prayer, that the Almighty Power may guide and support 
us, and that the blessing of His Holy Spirit may rest 
upon us. Our prayers, I trust, will be offered up, with 
equal fervor, for these inestimable blessings to be vouch- 
safed to them, and to all who love the Lord Jesus in 
sincerity and truth. I humbly pray that God's best 
blessing may attend yourself, Lady Parry, and your 
family. Believe me, ever, 

" Your affectionate friend, 

" John Franklin." 



Silt W. E. FAK3Y. 20' 



CHAPTER XII. 

HASLAK. 

1846—1852. 

It was now more than eight years, since Sir Edward 
had been appointed to the post of Comptroller of 
Steam Machinery at the Admiralty. His health had, 
latterly, derived much and lasting benefit from the 
skillful and generous care of his friend and early 
schoolfellow, F. Salmon, Esq.; but it soon became 
evident that he could not much longer stand the 
severe and increasing pressure of work, to which he 
was daily subjected. Accordingly, on the 1st of 
November, 1846, he wrote a letter to Lord Melville, 
First Lord of the Admiralty, accepting, conditionally, 
a proposal for retirement, which had been recently 
offered to post captains. It would have been a matter 
of surprise, had his long and important services been 
recompensed with retirement, at a time of life when 
his powers of body and mind were, under ordinary 
circumstances, as vigorous as ever. Almost by return 
of post, he received an answer from his lordship, in 
which he expressed " the high esteem he felt for Sir 
Edward's personal and private character," and, "la- 



268 MEMOIRS OF 

menting the cause which had induced him to make an 
application for retirement," offered to his acceptance 
the post of Captain-Superintendent of the Koyal 
Clarence Yard, and of the Naval Hospital at Haslar. 
It is almost needless to say that the offer, made in so 
handsome a manner, was gratefully accepted. He 
felt that the position was one in every way congenial 
to his tastes, as bringing him, once more, into imme- 
diate connection with members of his own profession ; 
and, on the 2d of December, he received his official 
appointment to Haslar. 

On the same day, all the officers of the establish- 
ment were, according to the usual custom, separately 
introduced to him by his predecessor, Captain Carter. 
Among the number of these were Sir John Eichard- 
son, the friend and companion of Franklin, in his 
perilous expeditions along the northern shores of the 
continent of America, with whom Sir Edward was 
well pleased to renew his acquaintance under circum- 
stances which necessarily brought them into daily in- 
tercourse. Of this first interview one of the officers 
speaks as follows : 

" I had never seen Sir Edward Parry before, and was 
singularly struck with his handsome and commanding 
appearance, tempered by an expression of benevolence, 
of which none of his portraits give a correct idea. His 
manner to us all was most cordial, and the few kind, 
hopeful words addressed to each had a very winning 
effect. Upon the occasion of my .first visit to his house, 
when I was introduced to Lady Parry, I recollect that 
my companion and I were so much pleased with our re- 
ception, that I was ungracious enough to remark after 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 269 

leaving : c This is much too pleasant to last, and by and 
by we shall see an alteration ! ' I had the happiness of 
meeting them often afterwards, at their own home and 
elsewhere, and never without feeling the injustice of 
what I had said. If their manners were charming to us 
at first, succeeding experience found them unchanged." 

The house of the Captain Superintendent at Haslar 
was a large building with two wings, in the centre of 
a terrace occupied by some of the other officers of the 
Hospital. From the front door a straight carriage- 
road led along an avenue of small trees to the chapel, 
a somewhat unsightly whitewashed building, imme- 
diately behind which was the noble quadrangle of the 
Hospital itself. At the back of the house was a lawn 
and garden, opening into a paddock of some acres in 
extent. From the lawn a light staircase led up the 
side of the house to a balcony outside the drawing- 
room windows, commanding a beautiful view of Spit- 
head, and the opposite coast of the Isle of Wight from 
Bembridge to Cowes. 

"While the house at Haslar was being prepared for 
the accommodation of his family, Sir Edward resided, 
for three months, at Anglesey- ville, about a mile dis- 
tant, and it was not until the month of May that he 
finally took possession of his new home. 

"Haslar, February 11, 1847. 
" My Dear H : Your friendly letter is most grati- 
fying to us, and I hasten to reply to your kind queries 
respecting us, and our movements. I am permitted by 
the mercy of our gracious God, to give a very prosperous 
account. Indeed, all our movements seem to have been 



270 MEMOIRS OF 

most graciously ordered and controlled, so that we can 
say, ' mercy and truth have followed us ' at every step. 
Whether from the change of air and place, or the relief 
from heavy work, or both together, I am thankful to say 
that I am wonderfully well for me, and I only desire to 
employ my improved powers to the glory of God, and the 
benefit of my fellow-creatures. Our position at Haslar is 
highly interesting, and we pray to be made God's hon- 
ored, though unworthy, instruments of good to the 
inmates. The lunatic department is particularly so, and 
very valuable, and I am much in it. 

" When your letter came yesterday, Lady Parry was 
organizing a ladies' association for making clothes for 
those poor famishing Irish ; and we are systematically 
bent on saving \l. a week from our housekeeping, to send, 
in money, as our own contribution. I have juftt proposed 
to the Admiralty to send a great quantity of old, useless 
sailors' clothes from Clarence Yard to Ireland for the' 
same purpose. It is charming to hear what you and 
yours are doing towards the same object, and I rejoice to 
see that it is almost universal. May the Lord bless the 
endeavors, and ' stay the plague ! ' " 

It will be readily supposed that one of Sir Edward's 
first objects at Haslar, as before at Port Stephens, would 
be to take an active interest in the spiritual, no less 
than the temporal welfare of the patients in the Hospi- 
tal. "We are," he wrote to a friend, "thank God, 
flourishing, and intrusted with many talents, for which 
we shall have to render an account when the Master 
comes to reckon with His servants. Our position is, 
indeed, full of near and touching interest, and we are 
tempted not unfrequently to say, or, at least, to think : 
' Who is sufficient for these things ? ' " With the ex- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 271 

ception of the lunatics, to whom one wing of the estab- 
lishment was devoted, the same individuals seldom 
remained under his control for many weeks together, 
but the number of patients actually within the walls at 
one time usually amounted to several hundreds. De- 
sirous of providing these with an opportunity of reli- 
gious instruction, independently of the regular services 
conducted by the chaplain, Sir Edward, on the second 
or third Sunday after his arrival at Haslar, commenced, 
with the chaplain's consent, a series of Sunday evening 
lectures, which were continued during the whole time 
of his command. These were always well attended, 
upwards of a hundred patients being sometimes present, 
besides others connected with the establishment, and a 
large company from the neighborhood. A few minutes 
before five, the party used to assemble in one of the 
large wards of the hospital, and punctually, almost 
while the clock was striking the hour, Sir Edward 
entered the room with his large Bible under his arm, 
and took his seat at a table prepared for him. His 
lectures which, during five years, included the Parables 
of our Lord, the Lord's Prayer, the Grospel of St. John, 
and the Acts of the Apostles, were always carefully 
prepared during the previous week. At first he spoke 
from notes, but these were by degrees enlarged, until 
the whole was written out word for word. The lec- 
ture, which lasted about three quarters of an hour, was 
preceded and closed with prayer. "I have listened to 
many eminent clergymen," are the words of one of the 
medical officers of the Hospital, "but to none who sur- 
passed Sir Edward Parry in the power of commanding 
attention. His delivery was pleasing and earnest, his 



272 MEMOIRS OF 

voice clear, sonorous, and such as went to the heart. 
I remember one remark of his that especially caught 
my attention, namely : ' That, while death occasionally 
visits all houses, to an hospital men come to die ! ' In 
such repute were these lectures held, that numerous 
visitors found their way to the officers' houses in order 
to have the satisfaction of attending them." 

Those who were privileged to spend a Sunday at 
Haslar will not soon forget that evening hour spent in 
the ward, and the interesting group of pale and eager 
listeners to the truths of the Gospel which fell from his 
lips. It was a sailor speaking to sailors of the things 
of eternity. 

" Oh ! how exquisite," writes a frequent visitor, " and 
unlike other things were those Haslar readings ! I love 
to dwell upon every incident connected with them — his 
taking his station at the table on the little raised platform, 
and reverently kneeling before them all, to ask silently a 
blessing, then seating himself with his Bible and exposi- 
tion, and looking round upon his sailor audience, to see 
that all were comfortable, and as near to him as could be, 
that they might hear the better — the attentive looks of 
the men, his plain but beautiful teaching, with familiar 
illustrations such as all could understand — his deep earn- 
estness, as one who had their souls' interest at heart — his 
kind words to the sick — and, when the little service was 
ended, the clustering round of those who had come to 
listen, and to witness this interesting scene ; then, the 
walk home of the large party, increased by some privi- 
leged ones, young officers and others, who had been in- 
vited to spend the evening with him. And lastly, that 
happy Sunday evening, who could describe it ? How 
sweet it is to call it all into vivid remembrance — the 



SIB W. E. PAEE5T. 273 

large party sitting down to tea, the conversation suited 
to the day, refreshing, easy, flowing, the adjournment to 
the drawing-room, reading aloud of some choice book — 
then the singing of hymns, — his singing, with heart and 
soul, and voice— -his extreme happiness and enjoyment 
of the whole, — the wonderful charm there was over it, so 
that we could not bear to break the spell when night 
came and time of retirement — the prolonged good nights, 
and reluctance to separate, feeling how intensely happy 
we had been ! " 

Many a token did Sir Edward receive that his labors 
had not been " in vain in the Lord." The following 
was addressed to him in the third year of his command 
at Haslar : 

"If. M. S. , March 3, 1849. 

" Sie : I beg you will pardon me the liberty I take in 
writing to you, but I know you will appreciate my pre- 
sent feelings, and sympathize with nie. Oh ! may God 
bless you, and farther you with His continual help, and 
give you grace to continue that good work, the lectures 
on Sunday evenings, to the enlightening and edifying of 
more souls! 

" I was in the Hospital three months ago, and attended 
your lectures every Sunday evening, and, I bless the 
Lord, it was the means of bringing one poor soul to see 
his un worthiness, and his needs of a Saviour. During the 
time I attended your lectures, you made a very serious 
impression on me. May God bless you for it, and may 
the words be sown on good ground, and bring forth fruit 
abundantly ! I pray God will enlighten me with His 
Holy Spirit, and guide my wandering feet ; and He will 
do it, for God is a God of prayer, and always more will' 
12* 



274 MEMOIRS OF 

iug to give than we to ask. I know that it will be grati- 
fying to you to learn that there is one who has profited 
by your kind endeavors, and may there be many more is 
the prayer of your obedient humble servant," 

" J. H. Master's Assistant." 

In bis almost daily visits to the sick wards, Sir 
Edward never allowed an opportunity to pass of 
dropping a word of spiritual comfort to the sufferers. 
When any patient asked to see him, he continued his 
visits daily, until the man died or was discharged from 
the Hospital, and many an hour, during his five years 
at Halsar, did he thus spend reading by the bedside of 
a sick or dying seaman. On one occasion, a man, who 
had been prevented by the weather from attending the 
Sunday evening lecture, had heard such a report of it 
from a friend that he ventured to forward a request^ 
through the matron, that he might be permit-ted to have 
it to read by himself. The favor was at once granted, 
Sir Edward himself bringing it to the man as he lay in 
bed. The subject which had thus attracted the atten- 
tion of his friend was the narrative of St. Paul's ship- 
wreck at Melita.* 

The organization of the Dockyard battalions was first 
commenced during the time of Sir Edward's command 
at Haslar, and the laborers and artisans employed in 
the Clarence Yard were formed into a separate corps, of 
which he received his commission as colonel-command- 
ant. Under the zealous superintendence of Major T. 
T. Grant, Storekeeper of the Yard, the u, Eoyal Clar- 

* The lecture to which allusion is here made will be found in the 
Appendix. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 275 

ence Yard Battalion " was, in an -unusually short time, 
rendered as effective as its small numbers would allow ; 
and the men were more than once complimented on 
their appearance by military officers of high rank, under 
whose inspection they passed. Sir Edward was not 
a little proud of his soldiers, and was frequently pre- 
sent at the regular drill which took place three times a 
week, as well as at the occasional field-days on Angle- 
sey common. In the intervals of his work at his office, 
he might often be seen diligently studying his text- 
book of military evolutions, " getting up his lesson," as 
he termed it, " for the afternoon's performance." Once, 
they were honored by being allowed to attend the 
Queen, on her landing at the Clarence Yard, instead of 
the usual guard of honor, on which occasion Sir 
Edward received Her Majesty, not in his usual capa- 
city of Captain-Superintendent, but in his colonel's 
uniform, at the head of his gallant battalion. A few 
days previously to the well-known 10th of April, 1848, 
all the regular troops stationed in or near Grosport were 
summoned to London, in anticipation of the expected 
Chartist demonstration, and, during their absence, the 
Clarance Yard Battalion performed all the usual mili- 
tary duties at the different stations on the west side of 
the harbor. Considerable apprehensions were enter- 
tained there, as elsewhere, as to the result of the day's 
proceedings in the metropolis, especially as information 
had been received that the expected insurgents had re- 
solved, in the event of success, to attack the dockyards 
and burn the naval stores. Constant telegraphic com- 
munications were kept up with the Horse Guards 
during the whole day, and Sir Edward was not a little 



276 MEMOIRS OF 

relieved when apprised of the success of the precautions 
taken by Government. " We were all of us ready," he 
wrote to his son afterwards, " and, depend upon it, we 
should have done our duty ; but it was an anxious 
time for some of us I" 

Upon the return of Sir James C. Ross from the Arctic 
regions in 1849, and the report of his failure to discover 
any traces of Franklin, Sir Edward was continually 
summoned to London, to consult with the Admiralty 
as to the best mode of continuing the search for the 
missing vessels. This was a subject in which, from 
his own polar experience, and his anxiety respecting 
the fate of his friend Franklin, his own feelings were 
deeply involved. " I have to make my report to-day," 
he writes to one of his children, " and I trust that I 
may be led, by a better wisdom than my own, to give 
sound and judicious advice." 

The arrival of Captain Austin in England, with the 
relics discovered by Captain Ommaney at Cape Riley, 
was to him, an object of peculiar interest, and it was 
his own and Sir John Richardson's careful reports on 
the subject, which ultimately settled the question of 
their connection with the long-lost " Erebus" and 
" Terror." It may well be conceived with what eager- 
ness he followed the steps of the searching expeditions, 
and the gradual advance of geographical knowledge in 
those regions to which he himself had opened the way. 
He eagerly perused the graphic account, in Lieut. 
M'Clintock's journal, of the visit paid by that officer to 
the scenes of his own early discoveries at Melville 
Island. He read the journal aloud to his family in the 
course of one evening, that they might share with him 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 2 7 7 

in the absorbing interest of the snbject. They saw that 
he could scarcely restrain his emotion, as the narrative 
detailed the first sight of the well-known rocks of 
Winter Harbor, and the finding of his own records 
beneath the cairns, and when it proceeded further to 
describe the place of his encampment during the spring 
journey across that island, where the bones of the 
ptarmigan, on which he and his companions had 
feasted, still lay scattered on the ground bleached with 
the frosts of thirty winters. He was not a little gratified 
with the compliment paid to the accuracy of his own 
account, " which," to use the words of one of the officers, 
" they carried with them like a Murray's Handbook," 
and by the aid of which the exploring party were led 
to the very spot where the wheels of his own broken- 
down cart had been left, and on which they had for 
some days confidently reckoned, as a welcome addition 
to their almost exhausted stock of fuel. 

While at Haslar, Sir Edward gave his full support 
to the different religious societies of which he was a 
member. At Grosport and Portsea he was continually 
called upon to take the chair at their provincial meet- 
ings. " The very sight of him," says a friend, " as 
he entered a public meeting, what animation and life 
it seemed to give! A sort of electric pleasure was 
instantly produced, and a glowing smile lighted up 
every face as it looked up to his. I have felt this 
often in going with him." In none did he feel a more 
lively interest than the British and Foreign Bible So- 
ciety, at the meetings of which in the neighborhood 
he usually presided. 

" I love the Bible Society," he said on one occasion, 



278 MEMOIRS OP 

" as one of the most valuable, and, under God's blessing, 
the most successful instruments for promoting His glory, 
and the highest welfare of men ! I love it, because I sec 
that, in these times, men are peculiarly apt to depart 
from the simple truth as it is in Jesus, and to aim at be- 
ing wise above that which is written. I love it, because 
it unites in one common object the different denomina- 
tions of Christians among us. With whatever regret 
we may contemplate the fact of such difference, yet a fact 
it is, and, I suppose, always must be, while the world 
lasts. For my own part, though I entertain an ardent 
and increasing love for the Church of which I am a mem- 
ber — though I have a sincere, and, I trust, a conscientious 
love for her articles, her liturgy, and her discipline — yet 
I do not see why all this is to prevent my joining, where 
I can, heart and soul, with those who differ from me in 
this respect !" 

At the time of the well-known " Papal Aggression" 
in 1850, a meeting was held at Grosport for the pur- 
pose of presenting an address to Her Majesty. The 
chair was taken by one of the magistrates, and the 
resolution, embodying the proposed address, moved 
by Sir Edward Parry, in an energetic speech expressive 
of his own willingness to take a foremost place in re- 
sisting a movement, which he felt to be opposed to 
''the Protestant throne, the Protestant liberties, and, 
above all, the Protestant faith of his country." 

" On these grounds," he concluded, " I cordially ap- 
prove of the address proposed to be presented to our 
most gracious Queen — and I heartily hope, and I fer- 
vently believe, that these arrogant pretensions will turn 
to our good — that they will serve to rouse that noble 



SIE, W. E. PARRY. 279 

Protestant spirit which has been so long dormant among 
us, but which the events of the few last weeks have 
proved not to be extinct. I confidently anticipate 
that an universal burst of honest English Protestant 
indignation will be unanimously sent forth, through the 
whole length and breadth of our land, such as will pro- 
duce among ourselves a reaction in favor of good, old- 
fashioned, scriptural truth, while it thunders in the ears 
of that presumptuous Pontiff, to teach him that, however 
cunning he may think the game he is playing, he has, 
for once, made a false move — to teach him that 'the 
wise are' sometimes 'taken in their own craftiness' — to 
teach him, in short, by a practical lesson, that England, 
Protestant England, is not prepared — though some of 
her recreant sons may have led him to expect that she 
is prepared, to be trampled under foot, to be held in 
bondage, either of soul or body, by any foreign Po- 
tentate !" 

In the foundation, at this time, of a Sailors' Home 
at Portsmouth, Sir Edward took an active part. Of 
the great importance and value of these institutions he 
was fully convinced, and always condemned in the 
strongest terms the idea, entertained by not a few 
naval officers, that the character of British seamen 
would be lowered in the eyes of the world, by any 
attempts to improve their moral and social condition 
on shore. He, on the contrary, made it his constant 
aim to impress upon them the fact, that a Christian 
sailor was not only a better and a happier man, but a 
better seaman also. 

" In advocating the cause of the Portsmouth Sailors' 
Home," he said, at a meeting at Bath in support of that 



280 MEMOIES OP 

institution, the year before his death, " we do, in fact, 
desire to advocate a most important principle, I mean 
that of the necessity of establishing Sailors' Homes not 
only at Portsmouth, but at all our seaports — not to be 
limited to this or that class of seamen, to sailors of the 
Royal Navy or those of our vast mercantile marine, but 
applicable to all who bear the name (may I not say, the 
honorable name) of British seamen !" 

The chief feature in Sir Edward Parry's religious 
life, which could scarcely fail to impress itself on all 
who were brought into contact with him, was its emi- 
nently natural and consistent character. It was not 
with him as a garment put on at particular seasons, or 
for stated purposes, but was, as it were, engrained into 
the very constitution of the man — the mainspring of 
every thought, word, and deed, in private as well as 
in public. At the same time, few have ever exhibited 
a more striking refutation of the charge, often brought 
against religion, of a tendency to cast a shade of gloom 
over the pleasures of life ; for his piety was as cheerful 
and genial as it was active and practical. Its simpli- 
city, also, was no less conspicuous. Holding the love 
of Christ to sinners as the foundation of his faith, and 
looking to the glory of Grod as his constant aim, the 
subtle reasonings of theologians, and the discussion of 
theoretical difficulties, had no charm for him, nor could 
he be induced to enter on any subjects of controversy, 
which he did not consider to be of practical importance 
to the Christian character. To him Christ was " all in 
all," the Atonement the central and ruling principle of 
his creed ; while the living fruits of his own Christian 
example formed an evidence of the earnestness and 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 281 

depth, of Ms religious character, which even those who 
differed from him in points of doctrine were constrained 
to acknowledge. Allied, as he undoubtedly was, by" 
conviction and feeling, to the views held by the Evan- 
gelical party — ever ready to proclaim his distaste to 
the sentiments of the so-called u Tractarian" school, 
and willing to hold out the right-hand of fellowship to 
his dissenting brethren, where he felt he could meet 
them on common ground — it was, at the same time, im- 
possible to accuse him of undervaluing the dignity of 
the Church of England, either in its services, on whose 
bsauty and spirituality he loved to dwell, or in the 
position held by its authorized ministers. If a clergy- 
man were staying in his house, no arguments would 
induce him to occupy his usual post at family prayers ; 
and, on one occasion, being anxious to complete a 
course of scriptural exposition which he had com- 
menced, he was not ashamed, humbly and touchingly, 
to request permission of his own son, then just or- 
dained, to allow him to continue for a few days longer 
in the place which, for the future, he considered as the 
right of the latter. 

To his own family the five years of their life at 
Haslar present one unvarying picture of domestic en- 
joyment. For the first time since his residence at Port 
Stephens, he was enabled to combine official duties 
with the daily interests of the home circle, and he 
reckoned this as not the least of the advantages conse- 
quent on his new position. When he left Hampstead, 
his second son was just entering the Navy, and the 
eldest still at Eugby. At the end of his sojourn at 
Haslar, the latter was shortly about to take his degree 



282 MEMOIRS OF 

at Oxford, his step-daughter already married, and his 
own eldest daughter engaged ; and it was to him a 
matter of unceasing thankfulness thus to have been 
able to watch over the spiritual, no less than the tem- 
poral welfare of those so dear to him, as they grew up 
around him, and emerged from childhood into the re- 
sponsibilities of riper age. The following letters, writ- 
ten at this period, form an interesting sample . of his 
Affectionate intercourse with them, and of the earnest 
manner in which he always strove to impress upon 
them the necessity of acting up to their Christian 
profession. 

To his eldest Son, at Rugby. 

"Haslar, Jane 5, 1847. 

" My Dearest E : I had not time last night to 

assure you, half as strongly as I wished to do, of the hap- 
piness I experienced in receiving Mr. C 's most wel- 
come announcement, and your own, on the subject of 
your prize. This was an honor which I had not ven- 
tured to anticipate for you, believing that we had no 
right to think of it, at your present standing in the Sixth. 
Let us be thankful, my dear boy, for this success, and let 
it be our purpose and endeavor to dedicate every success 
and every talent to God's glory ! I trust that nothing 

will come in the way to prevent my accepting Mr. C 's 

invitation to be present at the Speeches ; I should very 
greatly enjoy it. In this case we should, of course, come 
home together. 

" Ever your affectionate father, 

"W.E. Parry" 



SIR W. E. PAKIiY. 283 

To his Daughter, at school. 

"August 9, 1847. 

" Most thankful am I, my dearest child, that it has 
pleased God to place you in a situation so likely to be 
advantageous to you! Nothing but this conviction would 
have induced us to part with you from under our own 
roof, and from under our own eye, but we do feel so 
much confidence in those in whose charge you are placed, 
that we cannot entertain a doubt that, under God's bless 
ing (without which all human plans and means are un- 
availing,) you will derive much benefit from your present 
position. Above all, let us be in constant prayer to God 
that this step may be blessed to your eternal, as well as 
temporal good. There is nothing to be done, and nothing 
to be expected without this. ' We can do nothing of 
ourselves,' says the Apostle, ' but we can do all things 
through Christ strengthening us.' l Prayer moves the 
hand that moves the world.' 

" "We had a beautiful review of our battalion at Clar- 
ence Yard, by Prince Albert, on Saturday. The men 
performed capitally. The Prince was with us an hour or 
more, and expressed high gratification. God bless and 
keep you, my beloved child ! and ever believe me, 
" Your fondly affectionate father, 

"W.E. Parry." 

To the same, on her birthday. 

"Haslar, September 15, 1848. 

" My Precious L : This is not only my regular 

day for writing to you, but it is a day of so much interest 
to us both — interest for eternity, as well as for time — that 
I am desirous of making my letter to you to-day the first 



284 MEMOIRS OF 

act of the day, next to that which I have already per- 
formed of imploring God's best blessing on my child, and 
the child of so precious and beloved a mother. My prayer 

to God has been, my dearest L , that you may be His 

child as well as ours — ' a member of Christ, a child of 
God, and an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven.' This 
was ever her most fervent and incessant prayer for yon, 
that you might be born again — born of the Spirit, as well 
as of water — that Christ may be made unto you wisdom, 
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption •• 
that you may be justified, pardoned, and accepted through 
faith in Him, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, 
whom to know is life eternal ! 

" There was no feature in your dear mother's character 
more remarkable, and more lovely, than the simplicity, 
the child-like simplicity, of her faith in Jesus — her abhor- 
rence of, and shrinking from, any thing like mystification 
in the doctrines of the everlasting Gospel. 'Looking unto 
Jesus ' was her motto, the word of God her standard and 
guide. ' Thus saith the Lord ' was to her a sufficient, and 
never failing rule of life. She would have recoiled with 
disgust at that grievous heresy, that most baneful and 
dangerous semi-popery, now so common in our own 
Church, called ' Tractarianism,' which is a system of set- 
ting up the Priesthood, and what is called ' the Church,' 
and keeping out of sight the great Head of the Church — 
of putting human imaginations (in the shape of what is 
called tradition) side by side, and on a level with the in- 
fallible word of the eternal God — -of putting the observance 
of the sacraments in the place of the righteousness and 
death of Christ, as a meritorious ground of hope in the 
great concern of salvation, and thus making religion a 
business of outward forms and ceremonies, instead of a 
business of the heart. All this is a sad, sad perversion of 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 285 

the truth as it is in Jesus, and we know from experience 
now that it leads to all the errors, and superstitions, and 
idolatries of the Church of Rome. Beware then, my be- 
loved child, of this fatal, and, I fear, increasing device of 
the great adversary of souls. ' Search the Scriptures,' for 
they are able to make you wise unto salvation, through 
faith in Jesus Christ. I send you a valuable little tract, 
which I wish you would read attentively, comparing it 
with what you know of the Gospel, for that is the standard 
by which alone we must measure truth. ' To the Law 
and to the Testimony,' etc., (Isaiah 8 : 20.) 
" Ever your most loving Father, 

" W. E. Parry." 

To his Son, at sea. 

"October 21, 1849. 

" My Precious C : Though you will receive an- 
other note from me by this same post, yet I can not refrain 
from writing you a few lines more oh this your sixteenth 
birthday, to assure you how fervently I have poured out 
my heart this morning in prayer to God, that you may 
be preserved from all evil and danger of soul and body, 
and may be brought into the fold of the good and great 
Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and that we may all, at length, 
meet in His eternal and glorious kingdom, through His 
merits and mediation ! 

" I have been reading over your letters from St. Helen's, 
just before you left England, one of which was written 
this day two years, October 21, 1847, and I humbly desire 
to bless and praise my God for the prosperity which has 
attended you from that time. To Him, I shall commit 
you, my boy, in confidence that He will ever be with you, 
an I make all things work together for vour best srood. 



28G MEMOIRS OF 

Only be careful to honor Him, and He will honor yon, 
for that is His promise, and not one promise of His will 
ever fail. Be especially careful of your language, not to 
slip, as people often do, into any habits of profane ex- 
pressions ; nothing can be more ungentlemanly, as well 
as unchristian. Constantly remember that you are actu- 
ally in the presence and in the sight of* God, and that 
' He spieth out all our ways.' Honor Him by reading 
His word, and by daily prayer. Seek Hhn as ' your Father 
who is in Heaven.' Go to Him in every difficulty or trial. 
Speak to Him freely though reverently. Tell Him all 
your wants ; and the promise is, ' Seek, and ye shall find, 
ask, and ye shall have ; ' and may His blessing attend you 

evermore ! Ever, my dearest C , 

" Your loving father, 

" W. E. Parry." 

To Lady Parry, after parting with his sailor Son. 

"JSaslar, Jan. 31, 1851. 
" . . . . Now I must give you some 
little account of our day thus far, which, in the midst of 
much that is sorrowful in our partings, demands our 
warmest gratitude to Him, who ordereth all things well! 
" The day, as you were aware, cleared up just as we 
were starting to go on board the ' Sprightly ' steamer, to 
meet the Admiral. If we had been superstitiously in- 
clined, we should have called it a good omen, but it was 
cheering, and I hope we were thankful to Him who sent 
it. Our precious C 's leaving home was a really try- 
ing thing. He was greatly overcome in taking leave of 
all, sisters, servants, every body. I really did not know 
how to stand it myself, and felt it more than a comfort, a 
real mercy, to have to take him on board with dear E , 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 287 

and to have to rough it a little in boats, vessels, etc. 
The Admiral came before half-part ten, and off we went, 
taking not more than twenty minutes to reach the 'Am- 
phitrite ' at Spithead. The captain was most kind, and, 
indeed, all seemed as favorable for our beloved boy as we 
could desire. He at once mixed with the other mids, etc., 
and, though we knew his heart was half breaking (as I am 
sure mine was) at our parting, he behaved like a man, 
and, after two or three leave-takings, we came away with 
the Admiral, getting back to my office at half-past twelve. 
I feel it to be an eventful day, and when faith is weak — 
as, alas ! it often is — I could give way to many forebodings 
of never seeing my boy on earth again ; but I earnestly 
desire and pray to commit it all to Him who careth foi 
us!" 

To the same. 

"February 1, 1851. 

"My Dearest : I have just returned from the 

sea wall, where I have been straining my eyes, through 
the fog, to catch a last sight of the ' Amphitrite ! ' After 
watching her for about an hour and a quarter, knowing 
that she must go soon, having a fine E. N". E. wind, at 
length, at a quarter to five, I saw the sails loosed, and, at 
five minutes after five, she was fairly under way. I spent 
that hour and half in prayer for my precious boy ; and, 
when the ship was moving, I knelt down on that black 
stone seat, and poured out my whole heart, with strong 
tears and crying, in his behalf. I felt as if I never knew 
what prayer was before ! We sent him letters to Ply- 
mouth this morning, and I shall now write another line. 
And now I must say good by, and join our little party 
at home. May the Lord be with you ! " 



288 MEMOIRS D"P 

To his Son, at sea. 

"Haslar, December 12, 1851. 
. "Oh! how we shall think of our 
beloved sailor this Christmas, and of the happy, happy 
time we were permitted to enjoy last year. May it 
please God to give us such another Christmas, in His 
own good time and place ! I am sure you will like the 
proposals contained in the printed papers which I send 
you.* It is impossible to say what may not be the effect 
of united prayer, and the world, and the men of the 
world, little think what they owe to the prayers of God's 
servants ! 

" I have been very busy in our Arctic Committee to 
inquire into the results of the late expeditions, and, in 
our report, we recommend another expedition by way of 
Wellington Strait." 

To the same. 

"Haslar, June 13, 1852. 
" I need not say how we sympathize with you in tlie 
discouragements and difficulties you meet with, on board 
a ship, in your religious course. This is what might be 
expected. Our Lord always gave His disciples reason to 
expect this. Look at Matt. 10 : 24 to 28. Look also at 
Matt. 5 : 10, 11, 12. These passages show that He who 
knew all things, and what men's hearts are made of, 
knew that His followers would meet with such discourage- 
ments. The particular kind of opposition varies with all 
the various circumstances in which men are placed, but 
the principle is the same ; it is the same evil heart of un- 
belief, which sets itself up against God, and will not re- 

* " Proposal of Union for prayer in behalf of the Navy." 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 289 

ceive Christ into the heart. Your great security, as well 
as comfort, will always be in prayer. This is our chief 
defense against the wickedness of men, and the devices 
of Satan, and the reason of this is, that we can do 
nothing in our own strength, and need continual supplies 
of strength from Tibove, and this Divine strength is only 
to be had by continual asking for it." 

To Ms eldest Son, on first going to Oxford. 

"Haslar, September 4, 1849. 

" My Dearest E : We received your letter with 

great pleasure and interest, for we can not but feel this 
to be a great crisis in your life — indeed, except in ordi- 
nation, there can scarcely be any greater. It is, in fact, 
emerging, as it were, from boyhood to manhood, with 
all the increase of duties, responsibilities, and. dangers, 
which that change involves. It will be very desirable 
for you to endeavor to see your way, by God's help, upon 
all important points, before you go up to Oxford ; so that 
you may have your mind ready made up as to the line 
you are to take, and the conduct you are to pursue, in 
all essential matters. I am persuaded that much de- 
pends, in such cases, on the first start ; for what is easy, 
comparatively, at the outset, is very difficult afterwards, 
and may subject you to the charge of inconsistency. Be 
cautious, then, at first. Make no acquaintance, much less 
companions, incur no expense, commence no habit, which 
you will afterwards disapprove, and which it will require 
a great and irksome effort to get rid of C'est le premier 
pas qui eoute /" The principle to keep in view is prepa- 
ration for the sacred profession, the high and holy calling, 
upon which, if it please God, you hope, ere long, to enter. 
Let every thing tend to that as to a centre, and then you 
13 



290 MEMOIRS OF 

can not go very wrong. The question, ' Is this or that 
worthy of one who aspires to the sacred office of a Min- 
ister of Christ ?' will settle many difficulties, and resolve 
many doubts, and make many ' crooked things straight ' 
in your mind. Accustom yourself to aim high, not 
merely in learning, but in the objects and ends you pro- 
pose to yourself in life, and all with immediate reference 
to the life that will never end ! God bless and keep you, 

my dearest E , is the fervent prayer of 

" Your affectionate and loving father, 

" W. E. Parry." 

It would have been difficult for any to have found 
religion a restraint, when it was presented in the at- 
tractive garb which it wore at Haslar. A happier 
home could nowhere have been found, and never 
were lighter hearts or brighter faces than those which 
gathered on the lawn in the evening of the Midsummer 
holidays, or round the drawing-room table on a Christ- 
mas night. 

Of public balls and theatrical exhibitions Sir Ed- 
ward always disapproved, " not that I mind the plays 
or the dancing," he would say, "but because of the 
moral evils attendant on the one, and the habits of dis- 
sipation, and craving for excitement, produced by the 
other." Of amusement, however, there was never 
any lack at Haslar. At the annual festivities, marking 
the birthdays which clustered round the Christmas sea- 
son, "he was," to use the words of a spectator, "the 
very life and moving spring." These entertainments 
were always eagerly anticipated by young and old, for 
the company were of all ages, " grown-up children's 
parties," as he used to call them. In the tableau vi- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 291 

vants, his inventive genius was taxed as severely as it 
had been thirty years before on board the " Hecla." 
Of the charades none were ever so successful as those 
in which he himself appeared, and his entrance was 
always greeted with shouts of delight. " I can not 
even now recall," says a friend, "his inimitable per- 
formance of an old gipsy woman, without laughter ; 
or his Irishman, and his conversation improvised for 
■the occasion I" In the intervals between the scenes, he 
did not object to propose a quadrille, or country dance, 
himself selecting a partner, not unusually the smallest 
child in the room, and taking the first turn "down 
the middle and up again." On an ordinary evening 
during the holidays, when the house was usually full 
of guests, he was always the first to propose amuse- 
ments, in which all who wished might join. In sum- 
mer, he would swing the children in the paddock, or 
join in "trap-ball or "rounders" on the lawn. In 
winter, these more active games were exchanged for 
social amusements in the drawing-room. Of these the 
most popular was one well known at Haslar as the 
"American game," or an exercise in impromptu verses. 
The best of these compositions were immortalized in a 
book kept for the purpose, and, as the subjects usually 
referred to the prominent events of the day, the collec- 
tion soon formed a species of family chronicle, and 
many of the lines long survived as household words on 
the lips of the different members of the domestic circle. 
These compositions, usually of a humorous nature, oc- 
casionally partook of a graver character, one in par- 
ticular, composed by Sir Edward himself, when his 
sailor son was at home — the only occasion at Haslar, 



292 MEMOIRS OF 

on which he had the happiness of seeing all his children 
gathered round him at Christmas — was written with 
much feeling, and not without some poetical taste/'" 

On all his household Sir Edward enjoined the same 
regard to punctuality which marked his own move- 
ments. "Whatever fell to his share in the way of cor- 
respondence, or the execution of commissions, how- 
ever trifling, was always committed to writing, nor 
would he undertake any thing without a memorandum ' 
of this kind. His mornings were spent at his office in 
the Hospital, but even the hours devoted to business 
did not entirely separate him from intercourse with the 
different members of his family. He had always an 
affectionate word of greeting for any who chose to 
look in upon him at his work. If particularly occu- 
pied at the moment, he would bid them take a seat, 
until he had completed what he was about; then, 
pushing back his chair from the table, and raising his 
spectacles on to his forehead, with a cheerful "now 

* We subjoin the verses to which allusion is here made. It must be 
remembered that the subject was prescribed by the rules of the game, 
which in this instance required, in addition, the introduction of the 
word "birthday." 

" Lives there the man, who can presume to say 
Where we shall be another Christmas day ? 
What mortal eye can penetrate the veil, 
That hides in mystery our next year's tale — 
Where our next birthday, may perchance be past, 
Or whether we've already seen our last ? 
But, though our birthdays come no more on earth, 
Oh I let us strive to attain that better birth ! 
Ee it our aim to meet on that blest shore, 
Where birthdays, meetings, partings, are no more ! 

December 25, 1850." 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 293 

then ! " he would devote a few minutes to conversation. 
In a particular drawer of his table he kept a paper of 
sugar-plums for the younger children, and his bright 
"good-by," to old as well as young, was usually pre- 
ceded by a display of his secret store of good things. 
" Here," he would say, " this is all the hospitality I 
have to offer I " 

His present position was peculiarly congenial to him- 
self. A sailor amongst sailors, he was in his element. 
It was a pleasure to see him standing on the drawing- 
room balcony, for a few minutes before the dinner-bell 
rang, or on his favorite walk along the sea-wall, watch- 
ing through his spy-glass a vessel coming in to Spit- 
head, or following the graceful movements of the 
yachts, which, in the summer, enlivened the sparkling 
waters of the Solent. At the time of the annual Eyde 
and Cowes regattas, he delighted to organize a party 
of his children and guests for a voyage in his "yacht," 
as he playfully called one of the sailing-vessels belong- 
ing to the Clarence Yard, to share in the excitement of 
the gala clay. To all who were present at such ex- 
cursions these were golden, hours. These nautical 
expeditions were sometimes exchanged for a pic-nic to 
the Isle of Wight. The spot usually selected was the 
"landslip" near Bonckurch, and he took especial plea- 
sure in introducing a stranger to the beautiful scenery 
of that locality. 

It was not, however, merely to the partial eyes of 
his own home-circle that the private life of the beloved 
head of the family was invested with such a peculiar 
charm. The officers of the Hospital, and the guests 
who, from time to time, mingled in the happy domestic 



294 MEMOIRS OF 

party, were all able to bear witness of the atmosphere 
of unaffected Christian love and cheerfulness which he 
ever seemed to diffuse around him. The following 
letters will be read with interest, as expressing the im- 
pression left on the minds of some of those who knew 
him at Haslar : 

From a friend. 

" I know not how, adequately, to ex- 
press the loss we all sustained in the termination of dear 
Sir Edward's service at Haslar. I have often wished it 
might be among the possible things that he should have 
been permitted to remain, he seemed so eminently fitted 
to the place, and the place to him. Though we know 
that no one man is essential to any one work, still, most 
assuredly certain men are permitted to be greater in- 
struments of good in some situations than others, and it 
seemed to me that the loving, large sympathy with all, 
whether high or low, who came within the influence of 
my valued friend, rendered him more than ordinarily 
adapted for the superintendence of a sick hospital. Per- 
sonally, I can never revert to that period without very 
deep emotion, for I always look upon his residence there 
as a most wonderful ordering of events, as far as I was 
concerned. 

" I have the whole family constantly before me, and 
never was there a more warm-hearted or united house- 
hold. The spirit of the head pervaded all the members, 
as I remember some visitor once remarked, ' how happy 
all were at Haslar,' and he ' wondered whether it were 
religion, or the sea, which made it so pleasant ! ' There 
was all the good ordering of ' the service,' but without 
one atom of the ' Quarter-deck,' as we may say. I have 
frequently remarked to others, that, in analyzing the how 



SIR W. E. PARKY. 295 

and the why of so much, and so many things being 
effected, and that no one duty was ever sacrificed to 
another, I mainly accounted for it in the fact, that there 
was no delay in the performance of that which had been 
determined upon as right or fitting to do. Whether it 
were but the fulfillment of a promise in sending up a 
packet of sugar-plums to a child in the nursery, or the 
most important piece of business, it was done or provided 
for on the instant. 

" I believe it will never be known how many were 
comforted, in the extremity of pain and weakness, by his 
intercourse and his prayers. In fact, I have heard him 
say that it was almost more than he could bear, to be so 
constantly applied to, in the most trying hours of suf- 
fering, for his was a tender spirit, though strong in the 
faith which is alone strength; but still more was he 
tried, at times, by appeals of mental agony, never failing 
to testify of the fullness of that salvation offered for all 
men. He did not cry 'peace' where there was no 
peace, yet love, in its most extended sense, pervaded his 
every thought and act. Few in their generation can 
better say, ' Lord, thy pound has gained ten pounds ! ' I 
think his five and a-half years at Haslar was not among 
the least happy or satisfactory periods of his pilgrimage. 
Indeed, I have heard him say : ' What can a man wish for 



From a medical officer of Haslar Hospital. 

"A great advantage in Sir Edward Parry's official 
character was his easiness of access. One was sure of a 
kind reception, an attentive hearing, and, if the request 
were reasonable, a satisfactory reply; but, with all his 
gentleness, and urbanity of manner, he commanded such 
respect, that no man was ever treated by inferiors with 



296 MEMOIRS OP 

greater deference. Often have officers gone to him with 
a crotchet of doubtful advantage, and they would yield 
their opinions to his judgment. One whom I knew well, 
and not much given to yielding, used to say to me : ' I 
would not have given so and so up for any man but Sir 
Edward Parry !' I feel sure, too, that a culprit brought 
to receive his censure, would sooner have faced any 
noted Tartar in the service. 

" Such a system of precept and example did not fail in 
yielding fruit, and the improvement in the tone of morals 
among certain classes employed in the hospital was most 
manifest. Sir Edward was not content with mere pre- 
cept. Only show him how good was to be done, and he 
was sure to be earnest in support of it, both by his purse 
and personal exertions. His charity seemed unbounded. 
He gave so liberally, and so frequently, in a place where 
the calls were many, that his example stimulated others, 
and shamed into giving some who would have said ' No ' 
to an application for aid. One, like himself, a liberal 
giver, the late Dr. Anderson, often and often has said to 
me : " I am ashamed to go near Sir Edward Parry with a 
tale of distress, he meets my wishes so readily, and be- 
stows so largely !' " 



From Sir Harry Verney, Bart. 

"Clay don House, Bucks, March 12, 1856. 
" It was during the latter period of Sir Edward Parry's 
life that I knew him the most intimately. In the spring 
of 1852 my boy was appointed to the ' Victory,' while 
waiting for orders to join his ship in the Mediterranean, 
and I used to indulge myself by running down to Ports- 
mouth, as frequently as my Parliamentary occupations 



SIE W. E. PARRY. 297 

would permit. He had a keen sense of the dangers and 
temptations to which a young midshipman at Portsmouth 
is exposed, and his house afforded a most kindly, cheer- 
ful, sheltering home to any who had the happiness of 
being known to him. It was his delight to see officers 
of the sister professions sitting round his ample table, 
which so easily stretched longer and longer as his young- 
naval and military friends dropped in. He seemed to 
think that he could never have too many, and that they 
could never come too often, and his conversation, so lively 
and animated, so full of point and anecdote, was very at- 
tractive to all : to the young it possessed a peculiar charm, 
while over all his intercourse, and in his deportment, 
there was the unmistakable impress of the man of God. 
" But it is with those who were admitted to his Sunday 
evening Bible readings with his invalid sailors, that there 
will remain a recollection which will not quickly fade. 
Those who saw will not easily forget that manly form, 
and earnest, expressive, handsome countenance, as he 
read the word of God, and then his own well-considered, 
interesting comment, many a seaman sitting round in 
calm attention, his eyes fixed on his superior officer, who 
was urging on his attention words that perhaps he had 
rarely heard, and never attended to, since he quitted his 
mother's cottage. I can hardly conceive any occasion 
more likely to be useful to the spiritual interests of old 
and young than those services. The line countenances 
of the men, many of them recovering from severe sickness, 
their earnest, engrossed attention, the admirable prayer 
and exposition of my honored friend, formed altogether 
a scene of deepest interest, which I was thankful to have 
the opportunity of frequently witnessing, and which I 
hoped would be indelibly fixed in the memory of my 
son." 

13* 



29S MEMOIRS OF 

From the Rev. Q, F. L. Cotton, Master of Marlborough 
College. 

"The College, Marlborough, 
"Oct. 6,1856. 
" My Dear Parry : When you expressed your wish 
that I should contribute a letter to the memoir of your 
father, I doubted, at first, whether my intimacy with him 
had been sufficiently close to make my observations of 
any value. Yet, on consideration, it occurred to me that 
the impression which his character made on a person who 
had not known him till it was matured by age and ex- 
perience, and whose connection with him, though confi- 
dential, was comparatively limited, might be of service 
in affording a truthful and impartial picture of him. 
Therefore, I do not hesitate to comply with your wishes, 
and the more so as I welcome any opportunity of doing 
honor to the memory of one, for whom I entertain such 
a deep and unfeigned respect. From my visits to Hamp- 
stead and Haslar I have carried away a very distinct re- 
collection of his character and mode of life. The most 
definite impression which I retain from this intercourse 
with him is, that he was not ODly a true and devoted 
Christian, but a most rare and striking example of a 
Christian layman, who had been trained by an active and 
laborious professional career. For he was one who, hav- 
ing mixed much in society, travelled much, worked hard, 
known men of various ranks and stations, holding, too, a 
secular office of considerable importance, constantly em- 
ployed in the details of practical business, the father of a 
large family, discharging all his duties admirably well, 
was, at the same time, penetrated through and through 
by a loving faith in God, and a constant realization of the 
teaching; of the New Testament. 



SIR W: B. PARRY. 299 

" I will go a little into detail to illustrate my meaning. 
N"o one can have staid with him at Hampstead, without 
remembering the exact punctuality with which he left 
his house every morning, precisely at the same minute, 
to go down to his business at the Admiralty, nor at Has- 
lar, without admiring the perfect order which prevailed 
in the Hospital, and his familiarity with its inmates and 
all its arrangements, and with every detail of the work 
done in the various departments over which he presided. 
His neat and bold handwriting — the regularity with 
which every letter was answered — the care with which 
every important document was preserved and copied, and 
the packets of paper tied together, ticketed, and arranged, 
in the drawers of his study table, were sufficient proofs 
of his orderly habits. I remember being sometimes even 
amused at the almost premature zeal, with which packing 
and other needful preliminaries were enforced, when any 
of the family were going to leave home — when you and 
I, for instance, took our short tour in the Isle of Wight ; 
and in all matters, small and great, his arrangements 
were such that every thing w r as in its right place, and 
done in its right time. On the other hand, there was 
nothing of the spirit of a martinet about him, no undue 
importance attached to trifles, but a simple, clear-headed 
method made the regularity of the household natural 
without being troublesome or oppressive. Indeed no one 
could imagine that this order degenerated into a vexa- 
tious discipline, who had seen your father's cheerful joy- 
ousness, when making some excursion in a boat, or on 
foot, with all his children and visitors about him ; or, still 
more, when he presided over the pleasures of a Haslar 
evening. Sometimes he w r ould employ his musical talents 
to increase these, by playing on the violin, or singing 
some grand song of Handel's, with the purest taste and 



300 MEMOIRS OF 

deepest feeling, pouring forth, for instance, in his fine, 
clear voice, the exquisite melody of ' Lord, remember 
David !' Or again, when some lighter or more general 
amusement was required, he would get up a game of 
' bouts rimes,' or some other exercise of his guests' abili- 
ties, or perhaps superintend the children's performance 
of a charade. 

" But, no doubt, the most impressive, and the most 
characteristic scene at Haslar was when, on a Sunday 
evening, he sat surrounded by sailors, inmates of the 
Hospital, and read to them a chapter, generally, I think, 
of the Gospels, with a few words of simple explanation, 
and earnest application. And this recalls me to the 
crowning grace and glory of his character, his devoted 
Christian faith : yet I am unwilling to notice this as a 
separate head in the catalogue of his great and good 
qualities ; for, indeed, it was not separate, but rather 
pervaded his whole life, tempering by gentleness his 
firmness and decision, supporting, all that he did by earn- 
est principle, and so controlling and leavening his cheer- 
ful gayety, that it became devoted Christian kindness, 
showing itself in the effort to make all around him happy, 
and, at the same time, to preserve their enjoyment from 
the slightest taint of evil. The same striking qualities, 
which enabled him to encourage and sustain his men 
amidst the rigors of an Arctic winter, were conspicuous 
in the gentler form, natural to old age, when he appeared 
among the sailors at Haslar, with his tall commanding 
figure, and wide forehead, and white hair, as their com- 
rade, their chief, their helper, their Christian friend. No 
doubt, he was strongly attached to one particular party 
in the Church, but from his Avide experience, his practical 
sense, his large and generous heart, and, not least, firm 
and vigorous habits, and various knowledge, and active 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 30] 

dealings with men, which form the education of a sailor, 
he was truly catholic in his love for Christian goodness, 
and always ready to appreciate and reverence sincere and 
practical work, heartily done for God's glory. There 
were few for whom he had a deeper respect than for 
Arnold, and I do not remember ever to have heard from 
him any of those depreciating remarks and questionings, 
which some men are apt to express, when discussing the 
character and work of any one whose religious convic- 
tions are not formed on precisely the same model as their 
own. 

"Let me add one word in conclusion, on his love and 
care for his children, as shown during your education at 
Rugby. Happily your career there was, in all respects, 
so prosperous, that I remember no occasion on which 
any doubt or difficulty arose. But I shall not soon for- 
get his warm anxiety for your highest welfare, and the 
good practical sense whicji he showed in every conver- 
sation, and every letter about you. While he keenly 
sympathized in all your school trials, and rejoiced greatly 
in your school successes, there was nothing so near to his 
heart as the desire that you should grow up to be an 
earnest Christian man, and, especially, a faithful and de- 
voted minister of the Church of England. After I had 
left Rugby, and become Master of this College, he wrote 
to me on the occasion of your ordination, begging that 
I would not forget to pray for God's blessing on my old 
pupil, at so solemn a crisis of his life. This was the last 
letter which I ever received from him. 

" We can form no better wish for England than that 
God should raise up, amongst her people, a devoted band 
of men like him — of laymen, who bring to the service of 
Christ's Church not only the precious offering of zeal, 
devotion, and self-sacrifice, but the practical wisdom 



302 MEMOIRS OF 

which has been formed by intercourse with men, and by 
a wide experience of life. "We then shall have no reason 
to fear those tendencies of this age which many good 
men regard with suspicion ; for our civilization will be 
no less refined than Christianized, our commercial spirit 
will not degenerate into selfishness, and, in the midst of 
all our improvements, material and social, we shall desire 
above all things that the fear of God may penetrate our 
government, our family life, and our education. Believe 
me, my dear Parry, 

" Ever affectionately yours, 

" G. E. L. Cotton." 

At one time, it had seemed likely that the rapidly 
occurring vacancies in the list of admirals would, 
by bringing Sir Edward to his flag, oblige him to 
vacate his post of Captain-Superintendent before the 
five years of his appointment were out : but, towards 
the close of the time, these vacancies occurred so sel- 
dom, that, when the December of 1851 came, he was 
still a captain. Under these circumstances, he was 
permitted by the Admiralty to prolong his present 
command, until he reached the rank of admiral. At 
length, in May, 1852, his name stood at the head of 
the list of post captains, so that he was now, to use 
his own expression, "at single anchor," and, a few 
weeks latter, the announcement of another death 
among the admirals struck the final summons for him 
to leave his happy Haslar home. Within the six 
weeks allowed for removal, the last wagon load of 
furniture left the house ; and on the 29th of July, Sir 
Edward and Lady Parry, who alone of the family had 
remained to the last, drove away amidst the tears and 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 303 

unfeigned regrets of those, to whom, during their 
sojourn at Haslar, they had become deservedly en- 
deared. 

Sir E. Parry to his Son. 

" Hasl . No ! -Basing J*arJc, 

30th July, 1852. 

" My very Dear E : The girls have given you an 

account of our proceedings at Haslar up to their depar- 
ture thence on Tuesday. As soon as I had seen them off 
at the station, we went the whole round of T. T. L. 
visits in the Hospital, and I need not say it was a bitter 
pill to swallow. On Wednesday we had a most labori- 
ous day, in winding up our packing, paying bills, etc. ; 
besides which, mamma read at the wash-house, and took 
leave of her twenty-three poor washerwomen, amidst 
their tears and blessings. She also made all her fare- 
well calls on the various families of inferior rank in the 
Hospital ; so that we went to bed almost knocked up, 
but, a good night being mercifully given us, we rose at 
half-past five yesterday — completed more last ' arrange- 
ments,' paid many farewell visits, and quietly dined to- 
gether at half-past one. All the Richardsons came and 
spent the last hour with us. At length, we got into the 
pony-chair, all the Terrace coming to the door to say the 
last ' good-by,' and off we drove to the station. Never, 
I believe, did people part with more sincere regret, and 
you will not wonder that we felt it a relief, when, at 
length, the train was in motion for Fareham ! To God 
be all the praise for innumerable mercies, received in 
that dear place ! To Him be all the glory for any good 
He has permitted and enabled us to accomplish there ! 
From Him may we receive, for His dear Son's sake, 
pardon for all our omissions and short-comings, sins, neg« 
ligences, and ignorances." • 



304 MEMOIRS OF 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Summer at Keswick — Bishop's Waltham — Speech at Lynn — Bellot 
Testimonial — Greenwich — Lecture at Southampton — Illness — Voy- 
age to Rotterdam, and up the Rhine — Ems — Death — Conclusion. 

1852—1855. 

During the autumn of the year in which Sir 
Edward left Haslar, he spent a few weeks with his 
family at Keswick, in Cumberland, where he derived 
much enjoyment from this his first acquaintance with 
the beautiful scenery of the English lakes. At the 
annual feast of the children of St. John's schools, he 
suggested a boat excursion on the lake, as an addition 
to the usual amusements' of the day; and, himself 
embarking with the rest, led the procession from 
Keswick to Barrow; "thus," to use his own words, 
"hoisting his admiral's flag for the first time on Der- 
wentwater!" "The anniversary of our school-feast," 
writes the Kev. T. D. H. Battersby, " always carries 
back my thoughts to the time when dear Sir Edward 
hoisted his flag in my little boat, on the first of these 
happy occasions. It was he who gave us the first 
impulse, and we have kept them up ever since. I 
remember, as well as if it were yesterday, his address 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 805 

to the children on the terrace in front of Barrow 
House, and manv of them, I doubt not, recollect it 
too." 

Towards the close of the same year, he went to re- 
side at Northbrook House, Bishop's Waltkam, Hants. 
To one, whose whole life had been spent in active 
employment, the entire leisure he now enjoyed was 
something totally new. He felt, indeed, to use his 
own frequent expression, "that there was plenty of 
work in him yet;" but he was, at the same time, well 
content to leave his future prospects in better hands. 
It was not in his nature to be idle, even in retirement, 
and now in his own resources he found ample occupa- 
tion. He took an active interest in ministering to the 
necessities of the poor around him ; and the Eector, 
the Eev. W. Brock, found in him, as the following 
testimony will show, a ready supporter in all his plans 
for promoting the spiritual as well as the temporal 
welfare of the parish. 

" I shall ever look back on the year that Sir Edward 
Parry spent amongst us as the happiest of my ministry. 
He always seemed to me to leave the impression, whilst 
he was here, of one who had been communing with God, 
so that ' his face shone while he talked with us,' and his 
very countenance was oftentimes a sermon. He looked, 
as he was, a thoroughly happy Christian, and he certainly 
made others happy around him. What also struck me in 
his Christianity was the remarkable combination it ex- 
hibited of manliness and simplicity. It came up exactly to 
the requirements of the apostolic admonition: 'Brethren, 
be not children in understanding, howbeit, in malice be 
ye children, but in understanding be men ! ' There was 



306 MEMOIRS OF 

all the wisdom and the courage of the man, whilst 
there was also the docility, the gentleness, and the humi- 
lity of the little child. I can not but consider it to have 
been a great privilege and responsibility, for which we, 
in this parish, will have to give an account, that such an 
example (f genuine and practical Christianity should 
have been brought before us, as that which his life and 
character presented. Many will yet rise up to call this 
faithful servant of God blessed, because they reaped the 
fruit of his ' work of faith, and labor of love.' 

"The first occasion of his appearing amongst us in 
public was when he took the lead at our annual meeting 
for the Irish Church Missions. I shall never forget that 
evening. What a thrill of thankful emotion gladdened 
our hearts, as we listened to what I remember he called 
his ' Confession of faith ' to the people whom he ad- 
dressed so eloquently and so affectionately! It was no 
'uncertain sound' which that inaugural speech, if I may 
so call it, conveyed to us. There could be no mistaking 
it. The gallant speaker was not ashamed of Christ and 
of His words, and he manfully unfolded his colors before 
us, as a faithful soldier and servant of His Lord. He 
then struck, so to speak, the key-note which was to 
regulate the tone of his future residence in this parish. 
Kobly did he take his stand,_ in the midst of his fellow- 
parishioners, on the side of that Heavenly Captain 
whose name and word he delighted to honor ; while he 
set a fine example to laymen, in his position, of what he 
considered to be their duty and their privilege, namely, 
to be laborers together with God, and to be helj)ers of 
their pastor's joy, by serving with him in the Gospel. 
This, indeed, was his constant practice, during the whole 
time he sojourned amongst us. His visits of mercy and 
words of love are not forgotten. It was only the other 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 307 

day, that, in two or three of the abodes of sickness and 
infirmity which he so constantly visited, I heard the 
hearty exclamations, when his name was mentioned — 
1 blessed man ' — ' beautiful words he used to say to us,' 
and the like. He lives in the memory of the poor, and 
well he may, for he was, indeed, the friend of the poor. 
How well he knew them! How naturally he entered 
into their little world! How deep, how affectionate, 
how minute, were his fellowship and sympathy with the 
trials of the poor man's life, and with the joys and sor- 
rows of his heart ! 

"Our school festival for the year 1853 was, perhaps, 
the happiest and liveliest we ever had, and his jjresence 
and activity, on that occasion, gave an impulse and a 
buoyancy to our juvenile amusements, which will not be 
speedily forgotten. He was, indeed, our leader on that 
parochial ' field-day,' and, by the animated interest which 
he took in the sports and enjoyments of the children, and 
in the dispersion of the prizes which his liberality had 
provided, he endeared himself as much to the little ones 
of the parish, as he had already done to so many of their 

parents. ' How judiciously,' says Mr. S , our valued 

schoolmaster at the time, c he arranged the amusements, 
so that not a moment was unoccupied ! Sometimes, he 
was to be seen tying five or six sturdy boys in sacks for 
a race, and then, engaging in a game of trap-ball with 
some of the smaller ones. Here he might be, one 
minute, superintending the girls at the swing, and there, 
a minute after, throwing sweetmeats amongst the little 
ones, his benevolent features sparkling with pleasure, as 

he watched them scrambling for a share.' Mr. S 

also mentioned to me an incident, connected with his 
energy of character, which, he says, taught him a 
valuable lesson on the necessity of being diligent in 



808 MEMOIRS OF 

doing our Master's work, without being captions as to 
the exact way of its performance, or waiting till every 
apparent difficulty was removed. ' It was one evening, 
soon after the establishment of our school for adults, and 
before its organization was quite complete, when the 
teachers were gathered into a little knot, discussing this 
or that plan as the best to be pursued, that Sir Edward, 
after listening for some time, said, in his own energetic 
yet kind manner : ' Well, it's no use standing here all 
night, doing nothing! Let us begin, at any rate, and do 
something ! ' Then, speaking to two or three men with 
Bibles in their hands, ' Come here, my men, and let me 
hear you read a chapter ! ' and he took a seat on the 
nearest stool, while the men stood around him, and com- 
menced reading. The other teachers at' once followed 
his example, and the school was formed into classes. I 
have always thought this little circumstance a sort of 
epitome of his life. He was not only willing to do His 
Heavenly Father's will, but to do it 4 while it is called 
to-day.' 

" Gladly would I linger on scenes, the memories of 
which are so ' good and pleasant' to dwell upon. Though 
the retrospect has not been without its painfulness, as 
having brought so vividly before me the sad blank left 
in the parish by his removal from us, yet the brightness 
of his path was such, that it is quite impossible to look 
back upon it without profit and without praise. As the 
minister of the parish in which he spent one year of his 
useful life, I feel how deep have been my obligations to 
him, and how sacred has been the privilege to have had 
among us one who was so dear to Christ, who walked 
closely with God, and whose talents, high station, and 
example, were all so evidently consecrated to His ser- 



vice 



! 53 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 309 

In the spring of 1853, Sir Edward was called to 
attend the death-bed of his valued friend Dr. Ander- 
son, of Haslar Hospital. 

" I wish," he wrote to his sailor son in the Pacific, "you 
could have witnessed, as it was my privilege to do, his 
calm confidence in the prospect of departure, founded on 
his habitual trust in the mercy of God through Christ 
Jesus. He said to me, only a few hours before he died : 
4 1 have nothing to do — it is all done for me — Christ's 
work is a finished work, and in Him is my trust ! ' Pre- 
cious assurance of faith, when based upon such a founda- 
tion, even upon the Rock of ages ! " 

The year of his residence at Bishop's Waltham was 
marked by an event, to him of no ordinary interest. 
In the summer of 1853, the intelligence reached Eng- 
land of the discovery of the North-West Passage by 
Captain, now Sir E. M'Clure. Lieut. Cresswell, the 
bearer of these important dispatches, was the son of 
one of his oldest friends, and he felt it a source of no 
small pleasure and thankfulness, to be able to hear the 
particulars of the voyage of the "Investigator" from the 
lips of one, for whose personal safety he had been not a 
little anxious. Shortly after his return, Lieut. Cresswell 
came down to Northbrook, and it may be imagined 
with what intense eagerness every word of his account 
was received by Sir Edward, and the interest with 
which he pointed out to his family, on the chart, the 
position of Mercy Bay, where the " Investigator " still 
remained hopelessly entangled in the ice, almost within 
sight of Cape Providence, the furthest western limit of 
his own discoveries. "My old quarters at Melville 



310 MEMOIES OF 

Island," he remarked, " have now become quite classic 
gronnd ! " In October he had the gratification of at- 
tending a meeting in the Town-hall of Lynn, in honor 
of the safe and successful return of his young friend. 
It had been intended that no one except Lieut. Cress- 
well should have spoken on this occasion, but, at the 
conclusion of his speech, Sir Edward was universally 
called upon to address the meeting. 

" It is now twenty : eight years," he said, as he rose to 
comply with the call, " since I had the honor of receiving 
within these walls the freedom of the ancient borough of 
Lynn. I can truly say that, from that moment to this, I 
have never witnessed any occasion which has given me 
higher delight and gratification. You see before you to- 
day about the oldest, and about the youngest of Arctic 
navigators, and I do assure you, from my heart, that the 
feelings of the old Arctic navigator are those of the most 
intense gratification he ever experienced in the course of 
his life. I rejoice to be here to meet and support my dear 
young friend, as my fellow-townsman, for so I may call 
him, being myself a freeman of your borough. I came 
200 miles, and would willingly have come 2000 to be pre- 
sent this day ! How little I thought, when I stood on 
the western shore of Melville Island, and discovered 
Banks' Land in the distance, that, in the course of time, 
there would come another ship the other way to meet me, 
and to be anchored in the Bay of Mercy ! But while we 
are rejoicing over the return of our friend, and anticipat- 
ing the triumph that is awaiting his companions, we can 
not but turn to that which is not a matter of rejoicing, 
but rather of deep sorrow and regret, that there has not 
been found a single token of our dear long-lost Franklin, 
and his coniDanions. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 31] 

" My dear friend Franklin was sixty years old when he 
left this country, and I shall never forget the zeal, the al- 
most youthful enthusiasm, with which he entered on that 
expedition. Lord Haddington, who was then First Lord 
of the Admiralty, sent for me, and said : ' I see, by looking 
at the list, that Franklin is sixty years old. Do you think 
that we ought to let him go ? ' I said : ' He is a fitter 
man to go than any I know ; and if you don't let him go, 
the man will die of disappointment ! ' He did go, and 
has now been gone eight years. In the whole course of 
my life, I have never known a man like Franklin. I do 
not say it because we believe him to be dead, on the prin- 
ciple de mortuis nil nisi bo?ium, but because I never knew 
a man, in whom different qualities were so remarkably 
combined. With all the tenderness of heart of a simple 
child, there was all the greatness and magnanimity of a 
hero. It is told of him.-, that he would not even kill a 
mosquito that was stinging him, and, whether that be 
true or not, it is a true type of the tenderness of that 
man's heart. But I will not detain you longer. I hope 
you will pardon the loquacity of an old, old Arctic voy- 
ager. I must say that, when I hear those stories I have 
heard this morning, and read of the way in which the last 
link of the North-West Passage has been discovered — 
that to which I devoted the best years of my life — it re- 
kindles in my bosom all the ardor of enterprise, ay, and 
much of the vigor of youth ! " 

A few weeks later, he was called up to attend a meet- 
ing in London, in order to second a resolution moved 
by Sir James Graham, then First Lord of the Admi- 
ralty, for the purpose of erecting a testimonial to the 
memory of the gallant young Frenchman, Lieut. Bel- 
lot, who lost his life, on the shores of Wellington Chan- 



312 MEMOIRS OF 

nel, in the preceding summer. The memorial, a simple 
obelisk of granite bearing the name of Bellot, was after- 
wards placed close to the water's side in front of Green- 
wich Hospital, a fitting site for this record of one, who, 
though a foreigner, had nobly volunteered to aid in the 
search for England's lost heroes, and whose zeal and 
gentleness of disposition had endeared him to the hearts 
of British seamen. 

Sir Edward remained at Bishop's Waltham only 
twelve months, for, towards the close of this year, he 
was appointed by Lord Aberdeen to the Lieutenant 
Governorship of Greenwich Hospital, to which place 
he came to reside on the 18th January, 1854. A few 
weeks before this, he went down to Southampton, for 
the purpose of delivering a lecture to the seamen of 
that port. This had been undertaken at the request of 
Archdeacon Wigram, of Southampton, to whom we 
are indebted for the following account : 

. . . . " I am certain he never thought of obliging 
me. I and my interests were as little in his mind as him- 
self. His heart was in the cause. It was a work for God. 
He felt it a privilege to he so engaged, and, though his 
earnestness and attention to every thing was most grati- 
fying, and though it immensely increased my obligation 
to him, the animus of the chief agent was so catching, 
that I then thought as little of him as he did of me, Those 
who best know his career would say this was a very sim- 
ple illustration of the faculty which enabled him to influ- 
ence the hearts of other men, and imbue them with the 
spirit which moved his own. It was, perhaps, the secret 
of the success which so constantly attended his efforts, on 
far greater occasions than that in which I was allowed to 
take a part. 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 313 

" The day before the lecture, I went, accompanied by 
Captain F. Gambier, to the Docks, and boarded every 
ship, that the seamen might know, from the lips of a 
naval officer, that Admiral Parry was coming to address 
them, and to remind them who he was. When we en- 
tered the ships, we were surprised to find bills posted up 
to announce the address, not only on the upper deck, but 
between decks, where, I was told, such notices were not 
commonly allowed. The men generally knew well what 
we came to tell. They anticipated our recommendation 
by saying, at once, ' We mean to be there,' and they kept 
their word. 

" I had been told by many, that ' a great mistake was 
made,' that no common seamen would come up to the 
Victoria (the great company) room — it was a mile from 
the shore, across the town — it was not Jack's way to 
show himself in assembly rooms, and I ought to have 
engaged ' the long room, by the water's edge,' etc. But 
I had persisted that the occasion demanded the largest. 
area we could command, and so it proved. I stood with 
Captain Gambier in Portland Terrace, just before the 
appointed hour, and saw a steady flow of blue jackets 
and working clothes of all hues, (for we do not aspire 
here to naval uniformity of dress or neatness,) which 
told me plainly there was no mistake, and that we should 
have a room crowded with seafaring men, and other 
working people more or less connected with the Docks. 

" Here the whole order of things was reversed. On 
common occasions, at our great religious meetings, female 
attire and brightness form the adornings of the room. 
Now the colors were changed indeed. Bonnets there 
were next to none, and, instead of them, a close set range 
of dark, swarthy, sunburnt faces, with eyes unprotected 
by any covering, all intently gazing on the speaker's 
14 



314 MEMOIRS OF 

countenance. It is needless to tell of what may be read 
in the lecture, but my report would be deficient, if it did 
not relate, first, the quiet, determined earnestness with 
which every syllable of the address was delivered, espe- 
cially those parts which were of direct religious bearing, 
and, secondly, the profound stillness and breathless atten- 
tion, with which every word was received. Men wont to 
a short, sharp word of command, and an instantaneous, 
active reply— men given to yawn, and loiter in listless 
apathy, when they have no energetic work to do — were 
there, for nearly two hours, attent, without a motion, 
hanging on his lips. There was not a momentary inter- 
ruption, except for an occasional expression of sympathy, 
or a quiet outbreak of heartfelt applause. And yet, 
throughout the address, there was a brightness and cheer- 
iness, with a sailor-like ease, as well as a self-possession 
on the speaker's part, which often caused a smile, for an 
instant, to enliven many a face. Of such a kind was the 
mention of the three L's *, which a captain, under whom 
he had once served, said should always be observed in 
running up channel; or, again, when he spoke of the 
eagerness with which men sought admission into the 
Portsmouth Sailors' Home, when all the beds were occu- 
pied, ' pricking for the softest plank' on the boarded floor. 
But the main character of the address was grave. The 
welfare of souls was in the speaker's heart, and no one 
could mistake him aim throughout. It was this fact, and 
the conviction which possessed the whole room, that the 
best and eternal interests of the service were what the 
Admiral mainly desired to promote, that gave its peculiar 
character to the address, and which, for an instant, seemed 
well nigh arresting the progress of the speaker himself, 

* Namely, "lead, lead, lead: " with reference to the importance of 

continual soundings. 



SIR "W. E. PARRY. 3 1 5 

and overpowering many of his hearers. I allude to the 
character, conversion, and death of John Gordon. I shall 
never forget the thrill which ran through the room, and 
the palpable triumph of Christian principle over all the 
ways of man's devising, which were so commonly pursued 
by the company who confronted my chair at that time, 
as Sir Edward said: ' For my own part, I can never think 
of that Christian seaman without feelings of sincere affec- 
tion, and his memory will be dear to me as long as I live. 
But the loss was only ours, not his. Gordon loved, and 
read, and prayed over his Bible, and, so sure as that Bible 
is true, he is now safely moored in that haven, where 
there are no storms to agitate, no waves to roll, but all is 
rest, and peace,and joy, for ever and ever ! Can it be 
necessary for me to add that, if I commanded a ship again, 
it would be my pride and pleasure to have her manned 
with John Gordons ! ' 

"The address delivered, men seemed to pause and 
think. I have often remarked that the noisy applause 
which follows a lecture or speech is often the least satis- 
factory evidence of the effect produced. On this occa- 
sion, there were manifest signs of a blessed return from 
the word which had gone forth. The inquiry obviously 
in the minds of the audience, as some of them looked 
around, was, ' Who is next to speak ? ' — ' Where is the 
man, who can reply to what we have heard, and thank 
him for his address as is meet ? ' Captain Austin, R. 1ST., 
Government Superintendent of the Steam Navigation at 
this port, rose, as had been arranged, and, in a few 
hearty and appropriate terms, expressed what we all 
felt — ' that we ought to be the better for what we had 
heard.' 

" The scene "which immediately ensued took me, cer- 
tainly, by surprise. A number of officers and men, hVing 



316 MEMOIRS OF 

in Southampton, who had served at various times under 
the Admiral, came forward, to remind' him of the part 
they had borne in his honorable career. Several of 

them he recognized at once ; among them Lieut. D , 

and a John Gordon, who said, on claiming acquaintance, 
that ' he was not the John Gordon who was drowned.' 
' No,' replied Sir Edward, as he shook him heartily by 
the hand, ' but I know you well enough. You were my 
ice-master, and a very good hand at it you were !' 

" The memory of this evening and its proceedings will 
never be effaced from my mind. It was one of the hap- 
piest and most profitable in my life !" 

The gratification felt by Sir Edward at his appoint- 
ment to Greenwich was mingled with other feelings. 
None were more aware than himself, that the line of 
conduct which he had felt it his duty to pursue at 
Haslar had exposed him to censure from many, espe- 
cially amongst those who knew him only by report. He 
was, therefore, now more than ever anxious that, in 
entering upon a somewhat similar position, he might 
be enabled to avoid all unnecessary offense, and, at the 
same time, to maintain his Christian consistency. rt We 
must all pray," he said more than once, before coming 
to Greenwich, " that to us may be granted wisdom from 
on high ; for I feel that now, especially, is needed the 
wisdom of the serpent no less than the harmlessness of 
the dove !" How well he succeeded is best proved by 
the undoubted way in which, during the short year 
and a half of his life at Greenwich, he endeared him- 
self to the hearts of all. " Had we never known him," 
one writes, " we should have been spared the sorrow 
we now feel at the thought of losing so dear a friend, 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 317 

jet we can never regret or forget the circumstances 
which, gave ns the great privilege of knowing, even for 
so short a time, so rare, so inestimable a character as 
that of dear Sir Edward." Sir John Liddell, late Me- 
dical Inspector to the Hospital, writes : 

" When Sir Edward Parry was selected to fill the very 
important post of Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal 
Hospital for seamen at Greenwich, high expectations 
were formed, from his former distinguished career, of his 
great usefulness to that noble Institution, the cradle and 
the grave of England's best seamen; but these expecta- 
tions were more than realized by the energy and devotion 
that he brought to the discharge of the public and social 
business of the Hospital. He advocated the interests of 
religion and morality with the energy of a wise and 
philanthropic man, leaving us, who had the privilege of 
his intimacy, only to admire and do honor to the singu- 
lar ability he displayed in the various occupations he 
actually filled. His society and opinions were courted 
by persons in the highest, as well as the humbler stations 
of life ; the former he frequently declined to visit, on 
account of his health, the latter never ; nor was it only 
in the way of advice that he served the poor — he was 
most liberal in relieving their distresses, and in a manner 
so unostentatious, that it is only since his death that the 
extent of his bounty has come to light. These virtues 
were exercised perseveringly, under the pressure of the 
severe sufferings of a hopeless and protracted disease, 
which he endured, not only with the most perfect com- 
posure, but even with cheerfulness, till the close of a life 
that had been spent in unceasing efforts to raise the cha- 
racter and extend the usefulness of the Royal ISTavy, the 
especial object of his care ; whose improvement his large, 



318 MEMOIRS OF 

acute, and vigorous mind enabled him to see more clearly 
than most men." 

The following is from the pen of Admiral Hamilton, 
late Secretary of the Admiralty : 

" JBlackheath, Nov., 1856. 
" I need no reminder of Sir Edward Parry, when 1 
write from a place so near Greenwich as this. Great, 
indeed, must have been the force of a character, which, 
in a comparatively short period, made itself so exten- 
sively felt. It shows what may be accomplished by a 
constant mind, even when bodily powers are failing. 
The remembrance of his exertions for the good of others 
is often, I may truly say, an almost unwelcome monitor 
to myself, for it has so happened that my name has taken 
the place of his in several associations connnected with 
our service. We all need the injunction not to 'be 
Aveary in well doing,' and he seems never to have 
wearied. Most glad am I that it fell to Lord Aberdeen, 
as Prime Minister, to appoint him to Greenwich. I 
think I may venture to say it was a satisfaction to him- 
self, to believe that, in conferring on Sir Edward the 
reward of his character and services, he was, at the same 
time, benefiting the Institution of which he made him 
Lieutenant-Governor.. How far his Lordship was correct 
in his belief may be judged from the manner in which the 
name and memory of Sir Edward Parry are revered in 
Greenwich Hospital." 

During his residence at at Greenwich, Sir Edward 
Interested himself in the revival of a "Ladies' Bene- 
volent Society" in the Hospital, for the purpose of 
visiting and relieving the families of the out-door pen- 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 319 

sioners. Nothing discouraged by some minor difficulties 
which awaited him at the outset, he entered into the 
«cheme with such good will, that his zeal communicated 
itself to others, and he had the satisfaction of seeing 
that his efforts for the welfare of his humbler brethren 
were ably seconded. "All," he wrote, " have entered 
upon the cause most cordially ; and I trust it may be 
a comfort to many a poor wife and child." 

On more than one occasion, he was present at the 
meetings held in Greenwich by one of the London City 
Missionaries, for the benefit of the pensioners exclu- 
sively. He afterwards succeeded in procuring a larger 
room for the purpose, the men themselves contributing 
to pay the rent. 

" At our lecture the other evening," he writes, " about 
ninety persons were present, all, with one or two excep 
tions, our old friends the pensioners. The most devout 
feeling seemed to prevail, and I believe it to have been 
genuine. In the course of the evening I addressed them 
on the gratification I felt in seeing them thus engaged, 
as a proof that they cared for their souls, and, after expa- 
tiating a little on the only way of salvation, exhorted 
them to continue in that way, and to show their faith by 
their works — works, not as meritorious in themselves, 
but as a test of the sincerity of their profession as follow- 
ers of the Redeemer. After all was over, two or three 
of the old men came and shook hands with me, and, cu- 
riously enough, one of them proved to have been with 
me in ' La Hogue's' boats (under Coote) when he and I 
got our medals. The poor old man was quite affectionate 
to me." 

To Sir Edward's family and friends, his appointment 



320 MEMOIK3 OF 

as Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich was very grati- 
fying. They regarded it as the well-earned reward of 
more than half a century spent in his country's service ; 
and, while they rejoiced to see him, as he said, " at 
length moored for life in a snug harbor," they could 
not help indulging the hope that many years of ease 
and usefulness were yet before him. But it had been 
otherwise appointed, and never was seen more strongly 
the truth of his own favorite maxim, "Man proposes, 
and God disposes." 

In the summer of 1854, London and its suburbs 
were severely visited with Asiatic cholera. In the Hos- 
pital itself it found its victims, though its ravages there 
were not so great as in the surrounding localities. 
Towards the end of August, Sir Edward was himself 
attacked with the premonitory symptoms, which, 
though soon brought under control, seemed to be the 
exciting cause of his suffering and fatal disorder. At 
first, no serious apprehension was felt ; though it proved 
a complete bar to all his active habits, occasioning al- 
most constant pain, and seriously disturbing his rest at 
night. Under the watchful and affectionate care of 
Sir John Liddell, no means were left untried to alle- 
viate the malady ; but, notwithstanding, it seemed to 
gain ground instead of decreasing. During this autumn, 
he was able to transact the routine business of the Hos- 
pital, in the absence of Sir James Gordon, the Gov- 
ernor, and attended regularly, as chairman, the weekly 
meetings of a society for the relief of the families of 
sailors engaged in the war, in the formation of which 
he had himself been mainly instrumental ; but these 
efforts were not made without severe suffering. On 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 321 

the 6 th of November lie wrote: " I am much the same , 
certainly no sensible improvement. Do not not forget 
me in jour prayers, that calm, childlike submission may 
be given me." 

In the midst of this fiery trial, the brightness of his 
Christian resignation slione forth, as clearly as ever. 
"God's will be done!" was the prayer ever in his 
heart, and constantly on his lips. "If He wills," he 
would say to those whom he saw grieving on his ac- 
count, "I shall recover; but my times are in His 
hands." A friend, who saw him at this time, writes : 
" That visit of ours in the spring to Greenwich, was a 
special privilege. How cheerful and manly and noble 
his bearing under such, severe chastening ! We were 
most thankful to have had that sight of Mm, so near the 
time when he was to be taken from this passing world 
of ours. It left impressions never to be forgotten." 

His attention had latterly been directed towards a 
celebrated German doctor, who had been successful in 
his treatment of a similar case with which Sir Edward 
was acquainted ; and Dr. S being called to Eng- 
land in the spring of 1855, he took the opportunity of 
consulting him. 

On the 19th of May, Lady Parry writes : 

" It is now quite fixed that we go to Ems this day 
fortnight. Dr. S., who lodged here last night, holds out 
good hope of great benefit, and says that he regards it as 
a curable case. Many hearts will, I know, be helpers 
together by prayer in our behalf." 

In all the preparations for the journey Sir Edward 
took an active share, superintending the various ar- 
14* 



822 MEMOIRS OP 

rangements, and with his own hand writing the direc- 
tions for the different packages. On "Wednesday, the 
23d of May, the party, consisting of Sir Edward and 
Lady Parry, accompanied by those of their children 
who were able to leave England at the time, embarked 
at Greenwich on board the Eotterdam steamer, earnestly 
hoping that the desired boon of his recovery might be 
in store for them. The exertion of the voyage proved, 
however, too much for his enfeebled powers. " The 
very day of our arrival at Eotterdam," writes Lady 
Parry, "his strength seemed to fail so suddenly, that 
it was as if a thin shell had been worn through, and it 
were found hollow underneath." They remained a 
day at Eotterdam ; and, the next morning, embarked 
once more in the Ehine steamer. 

"Sir Edward and I," continues Lady Parry, " had the 
pavilion to ourselves. We made up a bed for him with 
a soft mattress on the sofa, where he lay with so much 
ease, that we determined on Saturday not to quit the 
boat, and all slept on board that night. At six A.M. on 
Sunday, (Whit Sunday,) we reached Diisseldorf. The 
town was filled with feast keepers and holiday makers, so 
that only at an extravagant cost could we get ourselves 
"upplied with rooms, but there was no alternative." 

On Monday evening, they arrived at Coblenz, and it 
vas an inexpressible relief to be able to send at once 

for Dr. S , who resided at Ehrenbreitstein. The 

effects of this "weary and anxious journey" were so 
plainly visible in Sir Edward's weakened condition, 
that for some days they were obliged to remain at Cob- 
lenz, and it was not until June 5th that they were able 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 323 

to reach Ems, where the rest of the party were already 
established. This was accomplished in an easy carriage, 

Dr. S himself accompanying them. His opinion 

of the case was, at first, by no means unfavorable ; and 
he hoped that, when the fatigue had passed off, there 
might be sufficient strength of constitution left to rally 
from the present state of complete prostration. These 
hopes, however, soon proved delusive. For the first 
three "weeks, he was able to walk daily to the baths : but 
each day his strength continued to diminish, until even 
this small exertion had to be given up. In a letter to 
her brother, the Eev. E. F. E. Hankinson, who had 
kindly offered to join her at Ems, Lady Parry says : 

'*s, June 20, 1855. 
" I now write to claim your kind offer to come to our 
help. I can not conceal from myself that the weakness 
has been steadily, and, I must say, greatly increased, and 
I detect tokens of its extent, which at times startle me. 
The voice is so altered, and the speech sometimes so 
indistinct, that I can with difficulty understand him. 
There is also a certain degree of veil and dreaminess over 
the dear mind. Alas ! alas ! my hope is faint as to the 
rallying power that remains, but we know that it may 
be, and, if right, will be. ' He who spared not His own 
Son, shall He not freely give us all things ? ' He can not 
bear much reading or talking, but we have daily a little 
service together, consisting of a few verses and prayer. 
He is in very frequent prayer himself, but, I think, low in 
natural spirits. Two or three hymns from the ' Spiritual 
Songs' he likes much — 'I lay my sins on Jesus,' 'My 
times are in Thy hands,' etc." 

And again : 



324 MEMOIRS OF 

"Mns, June 21, 1855. 
" My tiuings must be of steady and surely increasing 
weakness, and a look, that can not be mistaken, of failing 
nature. I said to him this morning, after reading a few 
verses of John 14 : i I do not feel as though this illness 
were for recovery.' ' Oh ! no,' he said, ' I think not.' 
1 Are you willing to depart, and go to Jesus ? ' ' Oh ! I 
long for it, I long for it, I am sorry to say ! ' ' JNTo,' I 
answered, ' not sorry — and we would fain be willing to 
let you go — only pray for us, that we may follow after, 
and, with not one lost, be a family in heaven.' With 
great emphasis he said : ' Not one will be lost, for they 
are all beloved of the Lord ! ' i What a mercy it is,' I 
added, ' that you have not now to seek a Saviour ! ' 
Again, with much emphasis, he replied: ' Oh ! it is, indeed ! 
but I have known Him, I trust, long ago, and now my 
whole trust is in Him.' " 

By the end of June, those of his children, who had 
hitherto been unable to leave England, arrived at Ems, 
so that all his family, with the exception of his sailor 
son and his married step -daughter, were now gathered 
round him, and the increasing weakness of their 
beloved parent warned them too surely that the closing 
scene must be near at hand. On Saturday, the 7th of 
July, Mr. Hankinson writes to his father : 

" I almost expected, when I last wrote to you, that my 
next letter would tell you that it was all over, and that 
our beloved brother had been released from the sufferings 
of the flesh, and I think you would almost expect it also. 
However, it is not so — he is still with us ; but we can not 
expect that it will go on much longer : indeed, we ought 



SIR W. E. PAR11Y. 325 

not to desire it, for, from time to time, he has renewed 
and severe trial and suffering, and his prayer for himself 
is : 4 Father, in Thine own good time receive me to Thy 
mercy! ' 

" Tnis morning, we all assembled round his bed, and I 
administered the Sacrament to him. I trust it was a 
comforting and strengthening privilege. He is ready ! 
What an inexpressible comfort is this ! There is no in- 
termixture of doubt in him, or for him. I trust that the 
Lord is with us ; and He will not leave nor forsake us." 

In a short conversation with Lady Parry, in the 
course of this same Saturday morning, he said; earn- 
estly : " I can only say that in Christ, and Him crucified, 
is all my salvation and all my desire." "Yes," she 
said, "that is as He would have it, that all but Him- 
self should be as nothing." "Oh," he replied: "no- 
thing, nothing — I sweep it all away ! He is all 
my salvation, and all my desire ! " Again, when the 
conversation turned on the prospect of his speedy 
departure : " Oh ! yes ! I long for it ! my desire is to slip 
away — to slip into the arms of my precious Saviour, 
and I think I shall soon slip out of your hands." 
Shortly afterwards, he added, with characteristic earn 
estness : " Mind, let there be no death-bed scene ! " She 
asked if he would not like to have his children round 
him. " Yes," he answered, " but take care, take care ! " 

Late on Saturday night he seemed sinking. A few 
words of prayer were offered up at his bedside, of which 
he was conscious, but too exhausted to speak, except 
once, when he was overheard to murmur, " The chariots 
and horses ! " evidently under the impression of his 
own immediate release. After a while, however, he 



rj26 MEMOIRS OF 

rallied and sank into a quiet sleep, which lasted with 
only occasional interruptions through the night. That 
night was the last he ever spent on earth. The next 
morning, at half-past nine, on Sunday, the 8th of July, 
he entered on " the rest which remaineth for the people 
of God." His last hours were mercifully free from pain, 
and he remained conscious to the last, until, with a 
gentle sigh, the lingering spirit " slipped," according to 
his own earnest desire, " into his Saviour's arms." His 
course was finished, the victory won, and the faithful 
servant entered into the joy of his Lord ! 

In -the course of the same week, the sorrowing family 
left Ems, a place henceforth hallowed to them by its 
many touching associations, and, early on_the next Sun- 
day, reached Greenwich, bringing with them the dear 
remains. The funeral took place on the following 
Thursday, July 19th. The following is from the pen of 
a near relative who attended : 

" London, July 20, 1855. 
"Yesterday passed off very much as you would sup- 
pose. It was a large funeral, and well arranged. The 
procession left the Lieutenant-Governor's house soon after 
twelve. In front of the coffin (on which lay his hat and 
sword) marched a regiment of pensioners, with furled 
flags and craped drums. As soon as we left the house, 
a large number of officers connected with the Hospital, 
fell in from the council room, and Arctic officers not a 
few — M'Clure, Collinson, Kellett, Austin, etc. We first 
proceeded to the chapel, where the chaplain read the ser- 
vice, and then to the Mausoleum in the burial ground 
belonging to the Hospital. His coffin rests by the side 



SIR W. E. PARRY. 327 

of the late Governor, Sir Charles Adam, and upon that 
of Sir Robert Stopford. 

" This terminates the sad story. A ' mighty man of 
valor,' a ' father in Israel,' a faithful servant of the Lord 
Jesus, whose light hath shone brightly before men, and 
whose record is on high, was, on this, day, consigned to 
his last resting-place among the honored of the earth, and 
there awaits the morning of a bright and glorious resur- 
rection ! " 

A tablet has been erected to bis memory in the 
Mausoleum of the cemetery at Greenwich, and another 
at Tunbridge Wells, close to that of his first wife. 



" WE BLESS THY HOLY NAME, LORD ! EOR ALL THY 
SERVANTS DEPARTED THIS LIFE IN THY EAITH AND EEAR ; 
BESEECHING THEE TO GIVE US GRACE SO TO FOLLOW THEIR 
GOOD EXAMPLES, THAT, WITH THEM, WE MAY BE PARTAKERS 
OF THY HEAVENLY KINGDOM." 



APPENDIX. 



Page 274. 

State* Mtafc at faster, grot* 13% 1S52. 

Acts 27. 

The Apostle Paul, having taken advantage of his rights, 
as a Roman citizen, to appeal to Caesar, the Roman 
Emperor, against the malicious injustice and violent per- 
secution of his own countrymen, the Jews — it was now 
determined to send him as a prisoner to Rome for this 
purpose, although King Agrippa, before whom he had 
made his defense, did, in fact, pronounce him guiltless. 
More honorable and satisfactory evidence of his inno- 
cence Paul could not have desired ! 

The chapter on which we are this evening entering — 
one of the most interesting portions of the history of the 
Acts of the Apostles — contains the account of Paul's 
perilous voyage on his way to Rome ; but, before we 
commence it, I can not help reminding you in how won- 
derful and altogether unexpected a manner the Lord's 
purpose, His promised and declared purpose, that Paul 
should go to Rome, was now about to be accomplished. 
At the very time when, as we are told, he was actually 
in danger of being " pulled in pieces " by the people, on 



330 APPENDIX. 

account of his faithfulness to Christ, and the chief cap- 
tain ordered him to be taken by force, and brought into 
the castle for the security of his life — under these fearful 
circumstances of peril it was that "he was to bear 
witness also at Rome." But who would have conjec- 
tured how this was to be brought about ? Who could 
have predicted that Paul, who was to be a witness for 
Christ at Rome, should go there as a prisoner ? Truly, 
" God's ways are not our ways ; " they are, indeed, " past 
finding out ! " 

I propose to consider, this evening, the whole account 
of this remarkable transaction, because it is so full of 
interest, especially to sea-faring people, and because it is 
not easy to divide so connected a story into separate 
portions. Let us now endeavor, by God's blessing, to 
derive some benefit from it to our own souls. And I 
think that such benefit may be ours, by our considering, 
with serious attention, the conduct of Paul, the servant 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the various circum- 
stances of difficulty, danger, and trial, in which he was 
placed. And this will naturally lead us to contemplate 
the faithfulness of the Lord to all His promises in behalf 
of His servants. 

I. Let us look at Paul's coolness, presence of mind, 
and holy courage, in the midst of the most appalling 
danger. Every body knows — and some here may per- 
haps know by experience — that a shipwreck in a gale of 
wind, with a heavy sea, and on an unknown and danger- 
ous coast, is no light matter. But even those among us 
who do, perhaps, know something of this peril can 
form but a very faint idea of what the danger was in 
Paul's time, with ill-constructed and badly found vessels, 
without the art and the discipline which gave us such 
great advantage. There can be no doubt that, under 



APPENDIX. 331 

such circumstances, their danger was even greater than 
ours ; and their hope of escaping with their lives much 
less. In fact, such was their state of peril, that Paul, 
in describing it, says that " all hope that we should be 
saved was taken away," that is, humanly speaking, there 
seemed no possibility of escape — human means seemed 
unavailing, and the people of the ship had given up all 
hope, seeing no prospect before them but that of certain 
and inevitable destruction ! 

But now mark the conduct of the servant of God ! 
Imagine a little vessel beating about among shoals, at 
the mercy of the winds and waves, in a gale so violent 
that they could carry no sail.* And again, when the 
sailors tried to desert their comrades in the hour of peril, 
and Paul remonstrated against this cowardly conduct, 
then we read, even at the very height of the danger, 
Paul besought them all to take meat, and to be of good 
cheer. Now this, I say, is an instance of uncommon 
coolness and courageous presence of mind. And what 
did it all proceed from ? My dear friends, the narrative 
does not leave us for a moment in doubt upon that point. 
It was not mere animal courage — by which I mean that 
quality which, however valuable, the lower animals 
possess in common with man, and often in a much 
higher degree than man. It was not simply this ; it was 
a holy trust in God ; a firm confidence in His power, 
His mercy, and in the faithfulness of His promises. The 
ground of Paul's confidence may all be summed up in 
one brief sentence of his : "I believe God, that it shall 
be even as it was told me." f Yes, my friends, faith 
in God is the source of the highest order of courage, of 
that moral courage which distinguishes man from the 
brute creation. The promises of God to His people, the 

* v. 17. f v. 25. 



332 APPENDIX. 

promises of His mercy and love to all who belong to 
Christ Jesus, His Son, are so numerous, so strong, so 
distinct, that I do not suppose any reasonable man, who 
believes the Bible to be God's Word, would, in so many 
words, venture to doubt or dispute them. But faith, 
living scriptural faith, goes farther than this. It is not 
merely an admission of the truth, but it is acting upon it, 
acting up to it : and this acting up to the truth is holy 
courage and confidence in time of need. It is not merely 
saying we believe in God's promises, but showing that 
we believe them, as Paul did, when the time of trial 
comes. It is easy enough to talk of faith in God, when 
all is smooth, and quiet, and safe around us ; but it is 
only the Christian warrior who can say, when the blasts 
of affliction, and the waves of sickness or sorrow are 
beating upon him, " I believe God, that it shall be even 
as it was told me" — told me in His Holy Word, whose 
every assurance is faithfulness and truth! My dear 
friends, if you wish to possess this confidence, this holy 
courage, cultivate that faith in God's promises, which is 
alone able to produce it. It is a high and a blessed 
attainment to be able to say from the heart : " I believe 
God, that it shall be even as it was told me ! " 

And, observe, as a proof that this was the source of 
Paul's courageous bearing in the hour of danger, that 
he ascribes it all to God. Paul may have been, and 
probably was, naturally a bold man. His whole history 
seems to imply that he was. But we do not see here any 
boasting of his natural courage, nor any reference to it. 
God had said to him, " Fear not, Paul," and Paul did 
not fear. God had said, " I have given thee all that sail 
. with thee," and Paul did not doubt it. Self was wholly 
out of the question — all had reference to God. Let us 
learn from this, my friends, to ascribe all that we have, 



APPE^TDIX. 333 

and all that we are, to Him who has given us all we 
have, and who has made us what we are. If success 
attend our worldly occupations, if a blessing rest upon 
our lawful endeavors, if we are enabled to avoid danger, 
or are safely delivered from it when it comes ; in each 
and every case, let us be sure to recognize the eye that 
watches, and the hand that guards us, and let the lan- 
guage of our inmost souls be ever this : " Not unto us, O 
Lord ! not unto us, but unto Thy name give the glory, for 
Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake ! " 

II. Next, then, let -us notice, as I proposed, how 
faithful God is to His promises. Paul knew that he was 
dealing with a faithful God, when he said, " I believe 
God, that it shall be even as it was told me," and his 
hope was not disappointed. Nor shall the hope of any 
be disappointed, who lean upon the promises of God. 
The promises of man are full of uncertainty and doubt, 
a constant source of disappointment, in some shape or 
other, and from a variety of causes. How often do we 
see a promise made, and wantonly broken ! How often 
does it turn out that a person is unable to perform his 
promise ! A thousand contingencies may cause the 
failure of one man's promises to another. But this can 
never be the case with the promises of God. In God 
there can never be either the want of power, or the want 
of will. He is both willing and able to fulfill, to the 
uttermost, whatever His word is pledged to accomplish. 
"He is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of 
man that He should repent." " Hath He said, and shall 
He not do it, or hath He not spoken, and shall He not 
make it good ? " However adverse the circumstances 
may be, to all human appearance, however unlikely the 
accomplishment of the divine promises may, at any time, 
seem to our limited apprehension, yet " the word of the 



334 APPENDIX. 

Lord standeth sure," and " not one jot or one tittle " of 
what He hath spoken shall ever fail. It was in the 
midst of the most appalling danger that the angel of God 
stood by Paul, and assured him not' only of his own 
preservation, but of the safety of every soul embarked in 
that ill-fated ship. Nothing could be more improbable. 
No peril could well be greater. Probably Paul was the 
only individual out of the " two hundred threescore and 
sixteen souls " on board, who believed in the possibility 
of their being saved. But the Lord had said it. His 
word was passed, and that was enough. The storm was 
violent, the sea was fearful, and the land was under their 
lee ; but He, at whose command the tempest blew and 
the waves arose, was stronger than they, " and so," we 
read, " it came to pass that they escaped all safe to 
land." 

But now I want you to observe, from the narrative 
before us, to whom it is that the promises of God's 
gracious protection are most especially, if not exclusively, 
made. On this occasion we are not told that any such 
assurance was given to any but one, out of the 2*76 
persons who were placed in this dreadful jeopardy, and 
that one was the servant of God ! Mark that well, my 
dear friends. One man received a gracious intimation 
that in spite of the disastrous predicament in which 
their ship was placed, all should end well. The other 
275 received no such intimation; and the ground of this 
selection of one man, out of so large a number, is clearly 
set forth in one expression used by Paul, in encouraging 
his affrighted shipmates. He says : " There stood by me 
this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I 
serve." There was the secret of this marvellous trans- 
action. Yes, my friends, the gracious promises of 
Almighty God are specially made to those who are His, 



APPENDIX. 335 

to those who serve Him ! The " eyes of the Lord are," 
in a special sense, " over the righteous, and His ears open 
unto their prayers." It is true indeed, that " He makes 
His sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and sends 
His rain on the just and unjust," but, while these ordi- 
nary gifts of His providence are thus scattered with a 
liberal and bounteous hand upon all, it is to His own 
servants, to the people of Christ, to the sheep of His clear 
Son's flock, that He dispenses, in richest abundance, all 
the blessings both of His providence and His grace. To 
all such He addresses the language which he addressed 
to His chosen people of old : " He that toucheth you, 
toucheth the apple of mine eye." * " Whoso hearkeneth 
unto me," says the Lord, " shall dwell safely " — that, my 
friends, is just what we all want — " shall dwell safely, 
and shall be quiet from fear of evil." f 

Let me draw your attention to another circumstance 
well worthy of our notice in this account of Paul's ship- 
wreck. God not only promised him that his own life 
should be spared, in this great peril, but, said the angel, 
" God hath given thee all them that sail with thee." 
Mark that expression, " hath given thee," clearly imply- 
ing that it was for Paul's sake that God was pleased to 
spare their lives — very likely in answer to Paul's prayers, 
for we know "that the effectual, fervent prayer of a 
righteous man availeth much" with God; and thus, 
there can be no doubt, it often happens that the wicked 
derive important benefits from being associated or con- 
nected with Christians. God often confers important 
benefits on the world at large, in the course of His gene- 
ral purpose to benefit His own people. The wicked city 
of Sodom would have been spared, could ten righteous 
men have been found within it. The Lord said : " I will 

* Zech. 2:8. f Prov. 1 : 33. 



336 APPENDIX, 

not destroy it for ten's sake." And thus, my dear friends, 
it is a high and holy privilege to be related to the serv- 
ants of God — to be the children of pious parents, or to 
be connected with pious partners in life. Many a hue- 
band, no doubt, has been spared, and saved, and blessed, 
in pity to his pious wife, or his godly children. It is a' 
privilege to be connected with the friends of God in 
business, to dwell near them, to be associated with them 
in the various circumstances of life, whether prosperous 
or adverse. God, who crowns them with loving-kindness 
and tender mercies, often fills the abodes of their neigh- 
bors and friends with the blessings of peace and salva- 
tion. 

And then, again, we may here remark, that it is pos- 
sible for a pious man, like Paul, so to conduct himself in 
the various trying scenes of life, the agitations, difficulties, 
and temptations of this world, as to conciliate the favor 
of worldly men, without compromising one principle of 
Christian duty. " The soldiers' counsel was to kill the 
prisoners ; but the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept 
them from their purpose." Paul's conduct on board the 
ship, the wisdom of his advice, the courage and prudence 
he displayed in the midst of the most appalling danger, 
and probably the belief that he was under the divine pro- 
tection and blessing — all these considerations disposed 
the centurion to save his life ; and thus, for the sake of 
this righteous man, the lives of all the prisoners were 
spared. And all experience shows that consistent Christ- 
ian conduct, however despised and ridiculed by worldly 
and wicked men, will, especially in times of difficulty and 
trial, secure, in the end, the respect and esteem even of 
those who know little or nothing of the power of Christ- 
ianity in their own hearts. 

And, lastly, let me direct your attention to the fact, 



APPENDIX. 337 

that no assurance of divine help and protection made 
Paul careless in the use of proper means for his preserva- 
tion. "We have seen this on several occasions in the 
course of this history, but in none more strikingly than 
in mis shipwreck. To say nothing of Paul's prudent 
remonstrance, and advice to them not to sail at all, you 
may observe the same wise precaution in the use of 
means, even after he had received the assurance of the 
Lord's protection. When the crew of the vessel were 
about to desert the ship in their boat, Paul did not look 
quietly on, as if it were of no importance whether they 
went away or not ; but he said to the centurion : " Except 
these abide in the ship, ye can not be saved." And in 
the same way, when they had been fasting so long as to 
reduce their strength, Paul said, " I pray you to take 
some meat, for this is for your health ; " and this, though, 
in dependence on God's promise, he could, immediately, 
and with the utmost confidence, add : " There shall not an 
hair fall from the head of any of you !" 

From this we learn that we have no right to neglect 
the means for accomplishing any lawful purpose. How- 
ever certain an event may be in the divine counsels, and 
however distinctly revealed and promised, yet man's 
agency is always necessary and proper. The means are 
determined as well as the end, and the one will not be 
secured without the other. And, remember, the same 
is true as to God's counsels in regard to our salvation. 
The end is not determined without the means. As God 
has ordained that His people shall be saved, so He has 
also ordained the means. Pie has ordained that they 
shall use His Word, His ordinances, prayer; He has 
ordained that they shall repent, shall believe, shall be 
holy, shall bring forth the fruits of repentance, faith, and 
holiness, and thus shall be saved. To the diligent use of 

15 



338 APPENDIX. 

means God has promised His blessing, and, without 
these means, no blessing is to be expected, Therefore, 
says the Apostle, "work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling" — here is the exhortation to man's 
diligence — and then he adds, (not as an encouragement 
to idleness, but as a stimulus to exertion,) "for it is God 
that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good 
pleasure." 

And now, my friends, we have seen with what holy 
confidence, with what cool, undaunted courage, the serv- 
ant of God can meet the most appalling danger. We 
have seen, too, how faithfully the Lord performs His 
promises to His people. And this applies to all God's 
faithful servants as much as to Paul. And is not this 
confidence — is not this assurance of safety worth pos- 
sessing? — -to be able to say, "I know that God is my 
friend, c a friend that sticketh closer than a brother ' " — 
His I am, and Him I serve, and, therefore, I know that 
His eye continually watches over me, that His hand is 
ever stretched out for my good — I know that, come 
what will, let the storms of affliction blow upon me ever 
so rudely, He who said to Paul, in the midst of the 
tempest, "Fear not !" will magnify His power in my 
deliverance — will, certainly, make "all things work 
together " for my best, my eternal welfare ? Yes, my 
dear friends, and we shall soon, very soon, need all that 
holy confidence, all that assurance of the divine love and 
protection, which none but the servants of God can 
experience. It is an easy thing, while life, and health, 
and prosperity are granted to us, to treat these matters 
lightly, and view them with indifference ; but oh ! let 
us look ahead, my friends, let us look beyond the present 
moment and the present scene ! The present moment is 
gone while we are talking about it. The present scene 



APPENDIX. 339 

will change before we are aware of it. All may be 
smooth, and calm, and quiet with you now, but what do 
•you do at sea, when all is smooth, and calm, and quiet ? 
Why, you put your rigging to rights, you repair your 
sails, you set all in order, "while you have the opportunity ; 
and why ? Because you know very well that the calm 
will not last for ever, that it can not last long, and, 
therefore, you prepare for the next gale, and the next 
lee shore! My dear friends, I beseech you, "by the 
mercies of God," to do the same by your souls ! How- 
ever smooth and unruffled may be the ocean of your life 
now, it can not always be so. Even in this world, the 
storms of affliction will come, the billows of trial will 
beat upon you, the rude blasts of suffering will assail 
you. It is the common lot of humanity, and you can not 
be exempt from it. And, even then, you will find that 
to lean upon any but your God for comfort, strength, 
support, and help, is but to lean on a broken reed. But, 
my dear friends, a much worse, a much more terrible 
storm is at hand. "Upon the wicked God shall rain 
snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest." 
The impenitent and unbelieving sinner is described here. 
Yes, my friends, that will be a storm indeed ! a storm 
against which no human art, or learning, or device of 
any kind can prevail to shelter you ! Against that storm, 
with all its terrific and eternal consequences, there is but 
one thing can shield you — "looking unto jesus" — lay- 
ing hold of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith — committing 
your souls to Him, as your Saviour-God. This is what 
you must do to secure yourselves against the storm of 
God's righteous indignation. Every other refuge will 
prove " a refuge of lies," whenever that storm comes. 
As, in the days of Noah, the ark was the only place of 
security when the floods of God's anger poured down on 



340 APPENDIX. 

this sinful earth, so, believe me, Christ will be the only 
Ark which will bear you harmless in that more tremen- 
dous flood, when " indignation and wrath, tribulation and- 
anguish," shall be poured upon every soul of man that has 
not fled to the hope set before it in the Gospel ! Would 
to God, my friends, I could, by any words of mine, per- 
suade you to come into this ark, and at once ! You 
know not when the storm may come. Be, then, always 
ready. That is the way, and the only way, to be always 
safe. Oh ! do not trifle, do not linger, do not live on, day 
by day, half-and-half Christians, meaning well, perhaps, 
but not acting boldly and decisively, having no real deal- 
ing with Christ, no personal transaction with the Saviour 
of sinners, and, therefore, securing to yourselves no 
interest in His great salvation ! Oh ! be wise in time ! 
The Lord Jesus is now inviting you to come to Him. His 
message of mercy is before you ! I beseech you, my 
friends, if you have never come to Christ before, come to 
Him now! Hear His gracious voice, "Ho, every one 
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters! " Believe that 
"faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ! " 
Show that you do believe it, by acting up to it. The 
Lord Jesus stands ready to save all who will be saved, 
all who will come unto God by Him. " Oh ! it is a 
blessed thing to belong to Christ, to be His people ! The 
hairs of , their head are all numbered, and the Lord cares 
for every one of them. Tbey are all kept on earth till 
they are ripe and ready for glory, and not one moment 
longer. No disease can touch them till the Lord gives 
the word ! " * When they come to their death-bed, " the 
everlasting arms" are round about them, and " make all 
their bed in their sickness." And, when they die, they 

* Rey. J. Kyle. 



APPENDIX. 341 

breathe their last in their Redeemer's arms, they fall 
asleep in Jesus, and are at once carried, like Lazarus, 
into Abraham's bosom. In life and in death the true 
believer realizes, in his own happy experience, the fulfill- 
ment of that sweet promise relating to Christ, " a man 
shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert 
from the tempest ; as rivers of water in a dry place, as 
the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." * O my 
friends ! make that man, the God-man, Christ Jesus, your 
" hiding place from the wind," your " covert from the 
tempest," and then you may say : 

" Then, let the wildest storms arise, 
Let tempests mingle earth with skies — ■ 
No fatal shipwreck shall I fear, 
But all my treasures with me bear. 

" If Thou, my Saviour, still be nigh, 
Cheerful I live, and cheerful die ; 
Secure, when mortal comforts flee, 
To find ten thousand worlds in Thee." 

* Isaiah 32: 2, 



